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PERSIA: 

EA.STER]Sr   Miissioisr 

A    NARRATIVE 


FOUNDING  AND  FORTUNES  OF  THE  EASTERN 
PERSIA  MISSION. 

WITH  A  SKETCH  OF  THE  VEESIONS  OF  THE  BIBLE 

AND  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  THE  PERSIAN 

AND   PERSIAN-TURKISH  LANGUAGES. 


BY  THE   / 

REV.  JAMES  ILASSETT, 

Author  of  "  Persia  :  Land  of  the  Imams." 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION 
AND  SABBATH-SCHOOL  WORK, 

1334  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


COPYRIGHT,   1890,  BY 

THE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD   OF  PUBLICATION 
AND  SABBATH-SCHOOL  WORK. 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED. 


Westcott  &  Thomson, 
Stereotypers  and  Electrolypers,  Philada. 


TO  THE 

HONORABLE  GEORGE  W.  BASSETT, 

THROUGH  WHOSE    TENDER   AND    DEVOTED    CARE    OF    OUR 

AGED  PARENTS    THE  OPPORTUNITY  WAS    GIVEN 

FOR  THESE  YEARS  OF  MISSIONARY  TOIL, 

AND   IN 

MEMORY  OF  HIS  CONSECRATED  LIFE, 

THESE    PA&ES    ARE    DEDICATED 

BY  HIS  BROTHER, 

The  Author. 


PREFACE. 


The  attention  of  the  public  is  drawn,  at  the  present 
time,  to  Persia  by  reason  of  the  Shah's  recent  visit  to 
Europe.  It  appears  to  be  assumed  by  many  persons 
that  because  the  people  are  interested  in  him  they  will 
be  concerned  to  know  more  of  his  land  and  of  what- 
ever is  likely  in  any  way  to  affect  the  future  of  his 
kingdom.  A  glance  at  what  is  now  commonly  writ- 
ten concerning  that  land  will  reveal  the  effort  which 
is  made  to  please  the  public  by  presenting  whatever  is 
most  curious  and  fabulous  in  the  Shah  and  his  country. 
When  the  popular  taste  for  the  disgusting  cannot  be 
satisfied  with  fact,  there  are  many  writers  ready  to  sup- 
ply the  lack  from  fancy  and  to  recall  the  fictions  of 
China  and  the  Middle  Ages.  When  the  public  taste 
calls  for  more  refined  delusions,  the  demand  is  supplied 
by  the  suppression  of  some  facts  and  the  exaggeration  of 
others.  The  people  have  been  taught  to  look  upon  the 
Shah  as  a  coarse  beast,  or  as  a  magician  whose  province 
it  is  to  call  up  the  fabulous  era  with  which  the  name 
of  Persia  has  been  for  so  long  a  time  associated.  He 
and  his  land    have  been  seen  through  a  cloud  of  ro- 

5 


6  PREFACE. 

mance.  His  attire  and  manners,  so  much  in  contrast 
with  the  costume  and  ways  of  European  princes,  and 
his  sparkling  gems,  are  in  keeping  with  the  popular 
fancy  and  aid  in  perpetuating  the  delusions  of  past 
ages.  Diplomacy  also  is  busy  in  magnifying  his  im- 
portance, and  rivals  vie  with  one  another  in  inciting 
the  populace  to  render  attentions  which  may  serve  to 
disclose  the  value  of  the  services  which  they  have  given 
to  the  Shah,  the  Queen  and  the  Czar.  Amid  them  all 
the  amiable  king  of  Persia  comes  as  the  fabled  sheep 
of  the  golden  fleece,  to  be  either  sheared  by  European 
sovereigns  or  to  bear  back  to  his  own  desert  country 
countless  aspirations  to  rival  the  glory  of  Christian 
lands. 

In  the  prevalence  of  this  demand  for  the  fabulous, 
and  while  the  critics  and  the  people  see  this  far-off 
country  in  the  magic  light  of  Aladdin's  wonderful  lamp, 
I  could  not  reasonably  expect  to  break  the  spell  or  meet 
the  call  for  the  graphic  and  marvelous  by  the  plain 
story  of  the  humble  efforts  of  a  few  missionaries.  Yet 
I  feel  confident  of  being  able  to  shed  a  light  which,  if 
it  does  not  have  the  charm  to  transmute  all  base  things 
on  which  it  falls  to  gold  and  gems,  will  reveal  things  as 
they  are,  and  disclose  a  power  at  work  in  that  realm 
destined  to  make  more  useful,  if  not  more  mysterious, 
changes  than  those  which  were  wrought  by  Aladdin's 
lamp.  However,  if  any  persons  care  not  to  journey 
with    me   in    my  humble  way,  I   leave   them   to   take 


PREFACE,  7 

the  "enchanted  horse"  which  stands  ready  in  nearly 
every  bookstall  to  bear  them  to  the  Land  of  the 
Sun.  I  shall  have  rendered  some  good  service  if  these 
pages  dispel  somewhat  of  the  cloud  of  fable  with  which 
the  Shah  and  his  laud  have  been  iuvested,  and  if  they 
shall  cast  some  light  on  the  conditions  in  which  he  is 
placed.  Especially  will  they  serve  a  good  purpose  if 
they  shall  bring  to  his  aid  and  to  the  Christian  workers 
there  the  sympathies  of  the  friends  of  progress  and  the 
prayers  of  the  Church  of  God. 

The  object  of  this  volume  is  to  give  the  principal 
facts  in  the  founding  and  fortunes  of  the  Eastern  Persia 
Mission  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
in  the  United  States.  The  book,  though  complete 
in  itself,  is  part  of  a  more  extended  one  comprehend- 
ing a  narrative  of  the  founding  and  fortunes  of  the 
Church  and  missions  in  Persia. 

In  this  volume  the  author  has  shunned  a  repetition 
of  all  matters  treated  of  in  his  earlier  work,  entitled 
Persia:  Land  of  the  Imams,  so  far  as  such  omission 
seemed  to  be  consistent  with  a  fair  understanding  of  the 
subjects  considered.  For  this  reason  there  is  in  this 
book  no  such  extended  treatment  of  some  topics  as  their 
importance  might  seem  to  justify.  That  book  describes 
the  natural  resources  of  the  country,  its  principal  places, 
people,  customs  and  religions,  and  does  not  give  any 
particular  or  full  account  of  the  missions  in  that  land. 
But  this  book  treats  chiefly  of  the  missionary  work. 


8  PREFACE. 

I  think  it  will  be  in  place  here  to  refer  to  some  errors 
concerning  the  missionaries  and  their  work  in  Eastern 
Persia  which  have  been  bandied  about  in  conspicuous 
places. 

The  author  of  the  work  entitled  The  Land  of  the 
Lion  and  the  Sun  in  the  opening  sentence  of  his  book 
pretends  to  quote  the  words  of  an  American  missionary. 
I  would  remind  the  readers  of  that  book  that  the  sen- 
tence referred  to  is  a  falsehood,  invented,  as  I  suppose, 
by  Dr.  Wills,  the  author  of  the  work.  No  American 
missionary  ever  used  the  words  given  as  a  quotation  in 
that  sentence.  Dr.  Wills  might  have  found  men  of  his 
own  nation,  near  at  hand,  who  could  say  "wall'^  for 
wellj  "  hegg  "  for  egg,  and  "  'orse  "  for  horse ;  so  I  can 
conjecture  two  reasons  only  why  the  doctor  should  have 
invented  that  fiction — namely,  to  establish  the  blood- 
relationship  of  the  American  missionaries  to  himself  by 
pronunciation,  or  to  start  off  his  book  on  Persia  with 
such  a  myth  as  would  season  all  the  rest  of  it. 

Many  errors  of  statement  are  made  with  reference  to 
the  missionary  work,  both  by  new  missionaries  and  by 
those  who  in  America  seem  to  be  charged  with  the  duty 
of  providing  information  for  the  people.  There  is  alto- 
gether too  much  eagerness  on  the  part  of  these  persons 
to  make  their  own  facts  and  invest  the  whole  with  the 
charm  of  romance.  I  will  not  attempt  to  designate  all 
these  errors,  for  many  of  them  have  resulted  from  no 
evil  intent,  but  simply  from  lack  of  knowledge  and  of 


PREFACE.  9 

disposition  to  kuow  the  facts.  But  with  reference  to 
others  it  is  to  be  said  that  it  is  marvelous  how  some 
persons  can  write  words  of  pious  ecstasy  with  deliberate 
misrepresentation.  Some  of  these  errors  will  be  cor- 
rected by  the  narrative  contained  in  these  pages. 

It  has  been  my  intention  to  continue  the  narrative 
only  to  the  close  of  the  year  1884.  Marked  changes 
and  progress  have  been  made  in  Tehran  since  that  date. 
The  mission  premises  in  that  city  have  been  sold,  and 
a  new  site  purchased  and  new  buildings  erected.  But 
as  I  have  not  intimate  and  personal  knowledge  of  these 
events,  and  as  the  printed  reports  at  command  are  in- 
complete, I  have  not  attempted  to  give  any  particular 
account  of  them. 

If  what  I  have  written  in  this  little  volume  shall 
serve  to  enlist  the  interest  of  those  who  read  it  in  be- 
half of  the  religious  welfare  of  the  people  of  Tehran 
and  Eastern  Persia,  and  lead  them  to  do  sincerely  what 
they  can  for  that  people,  I  shall  have  been  repaid  for 
my  labor,  and  shall  feel  that  it  has  not  been  lost. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 


Grouping  and  Names  of  the  Missions — Western  and  Eastern  Mis- 
sions Defined — Contrasts  in  the  Two  Fields— General  View  of 
the  Country — View  from  Damavand — Antiquity  and  Fame  of 
Khorasan — Difference  in  the  People  of  the  Two  Divisions — 
Historical  Associations — Great  Cities  of  Persia,  Ancient  and 
Modern — Cities  of  Eastern  Persia  mentioned  in  the  Bible — 
People  of  Eastern  Persia— Their  Wretched  Condition— Houses, 
Dress  and  General  Appearance — Women  and  Men — Filthiness 
of  the  People— Contrasts Page  23 


CHAPTER   II. 

Intellectual  and  Religious  State  of  the  People — Prominent  Features 
of  the  Religious  State— Persian  Mohammedans  extremely  Relig- 
ious—Excessive Attention  to  Externals — The  Chief  Element  of 
Sheahism— The  Divine  Right  of  Ale— Sacredness  of  the  Sayeds 
— Mohammedan  and  Protestant  Devotions  compared — Persian 
Superstition — Belief  in  Spirits  and  Demons  :  Deves,  Jins,  Ghouls 
— Departed  Spirits — Faith  in  Talismans — The  Evil  Eye— Exam- 
ples of  Demoniacal  Possession — Exorcists — Sacred  Books  pos- 
sessing Supernatural  Power — The  Koran  in  Necromancy — The 
Armenian  Bible— Other  Books— Dreams,  Faith  in ;  Examples  of 
— Superstition  not  Confined  to  the  Lower  Classes ;  Examples — 

11 


12  CONTENTS. 

Superstitious  Ceremonies — Fears — Spirit  of  the  Religious  Orders 
— Characteristics — Learning  Esteemed — Kind  of  Learning — Love 
of  Religious  Discussion — Sinister  Motives  in  Discussion — As- 
cendency of  the  Secular  Authorities  over  the  Olema — :Examples 
of  the  Methods  of  the  Mullahs — Cases  in  Rasht  and  Ispahan — 
Controversial  Books — Examples  of  Deception  Universal — Decep- 
tion as  an  Embellishment  of  Manners — Fraud  the  Great  Barrier 
to  Progress — Prevalent  Vices:  Intemperance;  Opium-eating; 
Use  of  Tobacco ;  Adultery  and  Sodomy ;  Gambling    .    Page  33 


CHAPTER  III. 

Condition  of  the  Women  of  Persia — Effect  of  Sheahism  on  the 
Popular  Estimate  of  Women — Influence  of  Fatima — Effect  shown 
by  Persian  Poetry — Popular  Estimate  of  the  Sayeds — Sanctity  of 
Female  Sayeds — A  Woman's  Power  over  her  Husband — Chiv- 
alrous Spirit  of  Persians — Example  of  the  Shah — Reverence  of 
Persians  for  Maternity — Property  Rights  of  Woman — Conditions 
Adverse  to  Woman — Lack  of  Schools  for  Females— Child-mar- 
riage— Female  Seclusion — Woman's  Costume— Effect  and  Preva- 
lence of  Polygamy — Baneful  Effect  of  Sekah  Marriage— The  Non- 
Mohammedan  Women  of  Persia:  Jewesses,  Christian  Women — 
Contrasts — Influence  of  Islam — Degraded  Condition  of  Christian 
Women— Efforts  for  the  Redemption  of  Woman  in  Persia — 
Proportion  of  Male  and  Female  Converts — Place  Assigned  to 
Women  in  the  Churches — No  Converts  from  Mohammedan 
Women Page  58 


CHAPTER   lY. 

Particular  Account  of  the  Opening  of  the  Mission  in  Eastern  Persia 
— Appointment  of  Mr.  Bassett  to  Tehran — Tour  of  Exploration — 
Departure  of  Mr.  Bassett  and  Family  from  Oroomiah  for  Tehran 
—Snowstorm— Incident  in  a  Balakhanah  of  Kilishkin— Last 
Stage  of  the  Journey— Mrs.  Bassett Page  74 


CONTENTS.  13 

CHAPTER  V. 

Tehran,  Situation  of — Temperature  and  Climate — Antiquity  of  Teh- 
ran— Changes  in — Later  Improvements — Population  :  Armenians, 
Jews,  Guebers,  Mohammedans — Mullahs  and  Shah — Foreign  Le- 
gations— State  of  Society — Mission-Work  previous  to  1872 — Pros- 
pective Work  of  the  Missionary — Native  Assistants — Religious 
Toleration — School  Opened — Armenian  Elders — Baron  Matteos — 
Proposed  Union  of  Schools — Departure  of  the  Shah  for  Europe — 
Prime  Minister — Shah's  Wife — Conspiracy — Erection  of  a  Chapel 
— Congregation  at  the  Chapel — Opposition  of  the  Archbishop  and 
Elders — Action  of  the  Authorities — Schemes  Defeated — Arme- 
nians of  Feruzbahrom  and  Zard  Aub — Summer  Retreat — Vanak 
— Violence  of  the  Priests — Intemperance  of  the  Villagers — Priest 
Megerditch — Heat  of  the  Country — Sickness — Increase  in  Schools 
— Annual  Meeting  in  Oroomiah — Return  to  Tehran — Rains  and 
Floods — Persian  Houses — The  Work  in  Hamadan — Mechail  and 
Reforms — Priest  Oracale — Persecution — Transfer  of  Native 
Preachers Page  79 

CHAPTER  VL 

Persecution  in  Tabriz — Nestorian  Helpers— Tour  of  Mr.  Coan — Peti- 
tion of  Nestorians — How  Disposed  of — Mr.  Bruce  in  Julfa — Open- 
ing of  School  for  Girls — Supply  of  Books — Proposed  Distribution 
of  Scriptures  in  Khorasan — The  City  of  Yezd — Situation  and 
People — Departure  and  Tour  of  Mechail  and  Babilla — Reception 
in  Yezd — Summoned  by  the  Mujtaheed — Peril — Interposition  of 
the  Governor — Flight  of  the  Colporteurs — Results — Transfer  of 
Native  Assistants — Opening  of  School  in  the  Eastern  Quarter — In- 
temperance— Summer  Retreat  at  Tajreesh — Environments — Per- 
sian Monogamy — Religious  Services — Affairs  in  Hamadan  and 
Shevarin — Mission  Removed  to  North  Side  of  Tehran,  called 
Shimron  Gate — Description  of  Buildings — Removal  of  Girls' 
School — Training-Class — Course  of  Study — Summary  of  Schools 
— Annual  Meeting  in  Tabriz — Arrival  of  Mr.  Potter — Return  to 
Tehran — W^ork  of  Mr.  Potter— Affairs  in  Shevarin  and  Hama- 


14  CONTENTS. 

dan — Tour  to  Hamadan — The  Governor,  Interview  with — Trial 
of  the  Kathoda — Intemperance  of  the  Native  Persian  Armenians 
— The  Kashish  Khanah — Ceremonies  of  the  Khanah  Described 
— The  Khanah  Suppressed — Taxes  Kelevied — Priest  Oracale  seeks 
a  Kemission  of  tlie  Taxes — Negotiations  with  the  Mustofe — The 
Priest  Presents  a  Petition  to  the  Shah — Teachers  sent  to  Karaghan 
and  Easht— Summer  Ketreat — Ascent  of  Shimron — Keinforce- 
ments— Mr.  Bassett's  Tour  to  Tiflis — Kasht,  Armenian  Congrega- 
tions in — Sketch  of  Mission-Work  and  Eesults  in  Rasht — Baku- 
Armenian  Congregation  of  Protestants — Armenian  Priest — Ar- 
menians of  Shamakha — Sargis,  his  Work  and  Character — Deten- 
tion of  Eeinforcements — Mission-  and  Bible- Work  in  Tiflis — 
Eussian  Sabbath — Departure  of  Missionaries  to  their  Eespective 
Fields — Miss  Sarah  Bassett  takes  Charge  of  the  Girls'  School — 
Christian  Literature  in  Persian — Condition  of  the  Persian  Script- 
ures— New  Edition  of  Scriptures  Sought — Mr,  Wright  and  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society — Persian  Hymns  and  Music — 
Attendance  of  Jews — Bequest  for  Jewish  School — Sketch  of  Jew- 
ish School Page  120 

CHAPTER   VII. 

Organization  of  the  Church  in  Tehran — Need  of  a  Confession — Char- 
acter of  the  Converts — Contributions— Hosein  Ale,  his  Parents 
and  Work — Preparation  of  Mohammedans  for  the  Gospel — Eela- 
tion  of  Officers  of  the  Persian  Government  to  Missionaries — 
The  Sadr  Azam — Colporteurs  in  Casveen — Summoned  by  the 
Governor — Their  Work  in  the  Villages — Hamadan — Changes  of 
Preachers — Arrival  of  Kasha  Shamoon — Sale  of  Books — Interest 
among  Jews — Narrative  of  the  Work  among  the  Jews — Trials  and 
Aims  of  the  Jews — Firman  for  their  Protection — Their  Appeal  to 
the  British  Society — Changes — Special  Services — Publication  of 
the  Tract  Primer — The  Censor  of  the  Press — Testimony  of  the 
Mujtaheed  concerning  the  Primer — Other  Translations — Mr. 
Potter's  Tour  to  Mashhade  Sar  and  Quarantine — Eoute  to  Mash- 
hade  Sar — Work  of  the  New  Missionaries — English  Services — 
Statistics  of  1878 Page  168 


CONTENTS.  15 

CHAPTER   VIIL 

Departure  of  Mr.  Potter  for  America — Departure  of  Mr.  Bassett  for 
Mashhad — Proposed  Translation  of  the  Gospel  of  Matthew — 
Colporteurs  and  Books  for  Mashhad — City  and  People — Fanatical 
Character  of  the  Pilgrims  and  Mullahs — The  Jews  of  Mashhad 
— Skeptics — Success  of  the  Book-Agents  Hosein  and  Daiid — 
Sequel  of  the  Work  in  Mashhad — Book-Depot  and  Colportage — 
Mirza  Daiid — His  Work — Return  to  Tehran — Captive  Geor- 
gians of  Abasabad — Purchase  of  Premises  in  Tehran — Titles  to 
Real  Estate — Persecution  of  the  Teacher  in  Karaghan — Sup- 
posed Secular  Authority  of  Missionaries — Persecutions  in  Ham- 
adan — Journey  of  Mr.  Bassett  to  Hamadan — Visits  Karaghan — 
The  Armenian  Settlement — Visit  of  Elders — Preaching — Dese- 
cration of  the  Sabbath — The  Priest  of  Bargoshad — School — 
Journey  by  Night — A  Village  in  Need — Appeal  for  the  Sick — ■ 
Arrival  in  Hamadan — Visit  of  the  Jews — Their  Wants — Jews 
Baptized — Audience  with  the  Governor — Summer  W^ork — Jews 
in  Tajreesh — Marriage  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Potter — His  Return  to 
Persia — The  Press — New  Premises  Occupied  by  the  Girls'  School 
— Sickness  of  Mrs.  Scott — Return  of  Mr.  Scott  and  Family  to 
America — His  Death  and  Character — Persecution  of  Jews  in 
Hamadan — Orders  of  Persian  Officers — Work  in  Tehran — Divis- 
ion of  Bible- Work — Return  of  Mr.  Bassett  to  the  United  States 
— Sickness  by  the  Way — Work  in  London — Summary  of  the 
Work  in  Eastern  Persia Page  184 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Schools — Marriages — Persecutions  in  Hamadan — Represented  to  the 
British  Minister — Yasse  Attar — Position  of  the  British  Minister 
— Reasons  for — Orders  of  the  Shah  touching  the  Attendance  of 
Mohammedans  at  the  Religious  Services  and  the  Instruction  of 
Mohammedans — Attendance  Prohibited  by  the  Missionary — Lib- 
erty of  Non-Mohammedans — Protestant  Village — Expediency  of 
forming  Christian  Villages — Mr.  Bruce  in  Hamadan — Arrival 
of  Mr.  Hawkes  in  Tehran — Bookroom  opened  in  Hamadan — 


16  CONTENTS. 

Death  of  Agah  Jan — Mussulmans  Received  to  the  Church — Pro- 
posed Occupation  of  Hamadan — Visit  of  Missionaries  and  Mr. 
"Whipple  to  Hamadan — Work  in  Hamadan — Division  of  the 
Bible- Work  in  Persia — Report  of  the  year  1880 — Girls'  School 
— Persecutions  in  Hamadan — Persecution  of  the  Pastor — Return 
of  Mr.  Bassett  and  Family — Dr.  W.  W.  Torrence — Voyage  on  the 
Caspian — Detention  at  Ashurada — Journey  to  Tehran — Changes 
in  the  Persian  Foreign  Office — Flight  of  Shamoon  to  Tehran — 
His  Return  to  Hamadan — Meeting  of  the  Persian  Mission — 
Division  of  the  Mission — Appointment  of  Mr.  Hawkes  to  Ham- 
adan— Consideration  of  the  Orders  of  the  Persian  Government — 
Copy  of  the  Action  taken  by  the  Mission  sent  to  the  British  Min- 
ister— Reply  of  the  Minister — Attendance  of  Mohammedans — 
Efforts  for  a  Modification  of  the  Orders — Refusal  of  the  British 
Minister  to  Interfere  for  a  Modification — Mission  Resolve  to  Close 
the  Chapel — Appeal  to  the  Persian  Foreign  Office  and  to  the 
Shah — Modification  granted  by  the  Shah — The  Chapel  Opened — 
Two  Missions  in  Hamadan — Mr.  Potter  Removes  to  the  Western 
Side  of  the  City — Dr.  Torrence  opens  a  Dispensary — Mirza 
Lazar  goes  to  Rasht — English  Services — School  for  Jews — 
Nurillah — Boarding-School — Services  of  Worship  and  Schools — 
Miss  Bassett  Returns  to  America — Protestant  Chapel  and  Ceme- 
tery— Eclipse  of  the  Sun Page  211 

CHAPTER  X. 

Arrival  of  Reinforcements — Eastern  Persian  Mission  Constituted — 
Schools — Theodore  Isaac — Services  of  Public  Worship  in  Eng- 
lish— Report  of  the  Girls'  School  for  1882 — Book  Department — 
Medical  Department — The  Native  Church — Death  of  Usta  Abra- 
ham— Erection  of  a  New  Chapel — The  Building  Described — 
Opposition  excited  by  the  Amene  Sultan — Attempt  to  Purchase 
the  Mission-Premises  by  the  Amene — The  Work  in  Hamadan — 
Persecutions — Mirza  Sayed  Khan — Beginning  of  the  Mission  of 
the  United  States  to  Persia — Inquiries  concerning  the  Safety  of 
Citizens  of  the  United  States  in  Persia — Report  of  ihe  British 
Foreign  Office  in  Reply — First  Appointment  under  the  Act  of 


CONTENTS.  17 

Congress — Appointment  of  S.  G.  W.  Benjamin — His  Arrival  in 
Persia — His  Antecedents  and  Qualifications — Public  Worship  in 
English — Services  in  Persian — Matters  with  the  Araene  Sultan — 
Aflairs  in  Hamadan — The  Secretary  of  the  Legation  goes  to 
Hamadan — Attempts  of  the  Old  Armenians  in  Hamadan — Per- 
secutions— Pleasant  Episodes — Miss  S.  Bassett  returns  to  Persia 
in  Company  with  Miss  Sherwood — Summary  of  the  Year's  Work 
— Work  for  Women,  as  shown  by  the  Keports  of  Mrs.  Bassett 
and  Mrs.  Potter — A  Glimpse  of  the  Girls'  School,  as  given  by  the 
Re])ort  of  Miss  Bartlett — Special  Religious  Interest  in  the  W^inter 
of  1883-84-  Summer  Residence  and  Work — Resignation  and 
Return  of  Mr.  Bassett  to  America ;  Reasons  therefor — Statements 
of  the  Annual  Report — Summary  of  the  Year's  Work  in  Hama- 
dan— Summary  of  Statistics  of  the  Mission — Miss  Schenck's  Quar- 
terly Report— Miss  Bassett's  Report  of  the  Year's  Work  in  the 
Girls'  School Page  238 

CHAPTER   XI. 

Methods  of  Mission-Labor  in  Persia,  especially  Eastern  Persia — 
Methods  Modified  by  the  Condition  of  the  People — The  Romantic 
Method — Finding  a  Congregation — Henry  Martyn's  Experience 
— Street-Preaching  not  Attempted  in  Mohammedan  Villages — 
Practicable  in  Christian  Villages — Obstacles  to  Gathering  Con- 
gregations— Intolerance  of  Islam — Opposition  of  the  Priests — 
Too  Sensitive  a  Conscience — Time-honored  Religions — Protest- 
antism too  Honest — Power  and  Futility  of  Controversy— Other 
Methods  Essential — Interested  and  Disinterested  Motives — Desire 
for  Education  and  Power  of  Schools — Permanent  Congregations, 
how  Formed — Difficulty  in  the  Way  of  Obtaining  Native  Preach- 
ers— Nestorian  Preachers — Armenians  of  Eastern  Persia — As- 
sistants to  be  Trained — Religious  Services — Persians  accustomed 
to  Public  Worship — Habits  of  Reverence— Preaching — Music — ■ 
Influence  of  Sacred  Song — The  Organ — Matter  of  Preaching — 
Doctrines  of  Religion — Objectionable  Doctrines — The  Ale  Alla- 
hees — EflTect  of  the  Peculiarities  of  the  Persian  Religion  on  the 
Relations  of  Persians  to  Christianity — Imitation  of  Christian 
2 


18  CONTENTS. 

Doctrine,  and  Assumptions — Eesemblance  to  Rome — Revulsion 
from  Rome — Conflict  of  the  Gospel  and  Sheahisra — Method  of 
Successful  Approach — Preparatory  Instruction  of  Converts — Cir- 
culation of  the  Scriptures — Instances  of  the  Influence  of  the 
Bible— The  Circulation  of  Other  Books— Pfander's  Works- 
Books  in  the  Armenian  Language — Kind  of  Books  Needed — 
Use  of  Medical  Missions— Special  Efforts  for  Persian  Women  by- 
Christian  Women Page  281 

CHAPTER   XII. 

Difl&culties  Peculiar  to  the  Field — Expensive  Establishments— Dis- 
play of  Wealth — Educational  Establishments — Similarity  of 
Motives  in  Tehran  and  in  New  York — Missionaries  are  Repre- 
sentatives— Impression  Created  by  Foreign  Legations — Criticism 
of  Missionaries — Requirements  in  the  Way  of  Schools — Judicious 
Use  of  Funds — Espionage  of  the  Persian  Authorities — Preoccu- 
pation of  the  Minds  of  the  People  by  Worldly  Allurements — 
Usual  Influence  of  Foreigners — Demand  for  Foreign  Protection — 
Advantages  of  the  Field — A  Centre  of  Influence  for  the  King- 
dom— Political  Influences — Persian  Young  Men— Good  Influence 
of  Foreigners — Consecration  of  Wealth Page  301 

CHAPTER  XIIL 

DiflSculties  and  Encouragements  in  the  Whole  Field — Intolerance — 
Peculiarities  of  Persian  Mohammedanism — The  Weaker  Phase — 
The  Difficulty  of  the  Mental  Condition — Policy  of  European 
Governments — Dispersed  State  of  the  Non-Mohammedan  People 
— Encouragements — Increase  of  Intelligence,  Means  of:  Tele- 
graphs, Postal  System — Favorable  Impression  of  Foreigners — 
Results  of  Missionary  Work — Precedents  in  Favor  of  Religious 
Liberty— Success  of  Bible-Work — Exploration— Preparatory 
Work — Present  and  Prospective  Effect  of  the  Russian  Ad- 
vance on  the  Eastern  Border  of  Persia — Natural  Resources 
of  Eastern    Persia — Elements   of  Change — Policy  of  European 

■      Nations    . •. ."    .  Page  315 


CONTENTS.  19 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Providential  Calls— Power  of  Social  Influences — Plea  for  Some  Iso- 
lated Communities — Abasabad  Georgians — Jews  of  Mashhad — 
A  College  in  Tehran,  Reasons  for Page  326 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Bible  in  Persia — No  Evidence  of  Christian  Literature  in  Per- 
sian in  Early  Times — The  Bible  First  in  Importance— First  Ver- 
sion of  any  Part  of  the  Bible  in  Persian — Version  of  Tus — Ver- 
sion of  Kaffa — Version  of  Wheeloe  and  Pierson — Earlier  Con- 
jectured Version — Version  of  Nadir  Shah — Version  of  Col.  Col- 
brook — Version  of  L.  Sebastiani — Version  of  Henry  Martyn — 
Version  of  the  Psalter  by  Henry  Martyn — Dates  of  Publication 
of  Different  Editions — Glen's  Version  of  the  Psalms — Poetical 
and  Prophetical  Books — Version  of  the  Historical  Books  by 
Pinkerton  and  Lee — Publication  of  Glen's  Version  of  the  Psalms 
and  Proverbs — Glen's  Version  of  the  Old  Testament,  printed  at 
Edinburgh — Robinson's  Version  of  the  Old  Testament — Version 
of  the  Psalms  by  Mirza  Abraham — Calcutta  Edition  of  Martyn's 
Version — Lithograph  Edition  of  Robinson's  Version — Bruce's 
Version — Versions  in  Turkish — Amirchanjanz's  Version  in 
Transcaucasiau  Tartar — Publication  of  the  Transcaucasian  Ver- 
sion— Labaree's  Version  in  Azarbijanee — Bassett's  Version  in 
Turkmanee — Difficulties  in  the  Way  of  Translating  in  Persian — 
Great  Size  of  the  Volume  of  the  Persian  Bible — New  Edition  in 
Small  Size — Lodiana  Edition — Efforts  in  the  Way  of  the  Circula- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  in  Persia — Favorable  Attitude  of  the  Per- 
sian Government  toward  Christian  Literature — Other  Religious 
Books  in  Persian — By  Whom  and  When  Made — Books  in  Per- 
sian Turkish Page  331 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

Mullahs 45 

Shah  of  Persia 61 

Armenian  Women 69 

Tehran  from  the  Ispahan  Road 81 

Jews  of  Tehran 87 

Burial-Tower  and  Plains  of  Ra  and  Tehran    .   .     91 

GuEBERs'  Burial-Tower 95 

Prime  Minister  in  Court  Costume 103 

Mechail  and  his  Wife 117 

Apartments  of  the  King's  Treasurer 129 

Girls'  School,  Tehran 133 

Training-Class  of  Young  Men 137 

Governor  of  Ardelan 141 

Armenian  Priest 145 

Armenian  Patriarch 149 

Baku 157 

Baku  Mussulman  and  Wife 161 

Shrine  of  Reza 185 

Dervish 189 

Mission-Premises,  Tehran 205 

Interior  of  New  Chapel 243 

Hut  and  Booth  near  Rasht 253 

Armenian  Mother  and  Son 257 

Carepet  and  his  Wife  Victoria 263 

British  Legation , 305 

21 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 


CHAPTER  I 


Grouping  and  Names  of  the  Missions — Western  and  Eastern  Mis- 
sions Defined — Contrasts  in  the  Two  Fields — General  View  of 
the  Country — View  from  Damavand — Antiquity  and  Fame  of 
Khorasan — Difference  in  the  People  of  the  Two  Divisions — 
Historical  Associations — Great  Cities  of  Persia,  Ancient  and 
Modern — Cities  of  Eastern  Persia  mentioned  in  the  Bible — 
People  of  Eastern  Persia — Their  Wretched  Condition — Houses, 
Dress  and  General  Appearance — Women  and  Men — Filthiness 
of  the  People — Contrasts. 

rriHE  missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign 
-*-  Missions  in  Persia  are  grouped  under  two  names — 
"  The  Western  Persia  Mission  '^  and  "  the  Eastern  Per- 
sia Mission."  The  terms  denote  the  position  of  the 
two  divisions  with  relation  to  one  another,  and  not  an 
exact  and  equal  division  of  the  area  of  the  country  with 
reference  to  the  points  of  the  compass.  If  it  were  re- 
quired to  divide  the  land  in  length  from  east  to  west  on 
the  thirty-sixth  parallel  by  a  line  drawn  from  north  to 
south,  the  latter  line  would  intersect  the  former  at  or 
very  near  Mount  Damavand,  or  about  forty  miles  east 
of  Tehran. 

23 


24  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

The  provinces  of  Khorasan  and  Karman  comprise 
Eastern  Persia,  geographically  considered.  But  as  the 
greater  part  of  these  provinces  is  an  uninhabited  desert, 
the  capital  may  be  considered  as  practically  the  central 
city  of  the  eastern  section.  It  is  really  the  geographical 
centre  of  the  northern  part  of  the  country  only,  or  of 
that  part  lying  north  of  the  thirty-third  parallel.  The 
missions  of  the  "  Board  "  above  named  have  no  station 
or  work  south  of  that  latitude.  All  their  operations 
have  been  carried  on,  therefore,  in  what  is  properly 
called  Northern  Persia,  except  such  incidental  eifort  as 
may  have  been  made  south  of  the  city  of  Hamadan.  The 
cities  of  Casveen  and  Seuah  are  the  most  western  towns 
in  which  work  has  been,  or  is  likely  to  be,  done  by  the 
missionaries  of  Tehran  and  Hamadan,  and  the  regions 
east  of  the  former  places  constitute  the  field  of  the  East- 
ern Persia  Mission. 

This  section  of  the  country  differs  in  some  particulars 
from  the  district  west  of  it.  The  greatest  differences  are 
in  the  extent  of  desert,  altitude  of  mountains  and  plains, 
and  in  the  races  of  people  and  their  languages.  The 
western  part  is  a  country  of  high  table-lands,  the  cen- 
tre of  the  kingdom.  Here  the  plains  are  from  four  to  six 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and  the  mountains  called 
Zagros  cover  the  southern  portion  of  this  field.  In  the 
north  the  Elburz  Mountains  form  a  striking  contrast  with 
the  great  desert  stretching  southward  and  eastward  at 
their  base.     They  differ  from  the  mountains  of  Western 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  25 

Persia  iu  their  great  altitude  and  iu  their  general  direc- 
tion. Several  peaks  in  this  range  rise  to  a  height  of 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and 
Damavand,  the  loftiest  mountain  of  Western  Asia,  marks 
very  nearly  the  centre  of  the  range  in  its  stretch  across 
tlie  kingdom  from  the  western  shore  of  the  Caspian  Sea 
to  the  eastern  border,  and  stands  as  a  sentinel  looking 
over  the  wide  desolation  of  the  great  desert  on  the  south 
and  on  the  waters  of  the  Caspian  Sea  on  the  north.  If 
there  is  a  marked  contrast  iu  the  contour  of  the  moun- 
tains and  plains  of  the  two  divisions  we  have  made,  there 
is  but  little  difference  in  the  aspects  of  barrenness  and 
desolation,  for  these  appearances  belong  to  all  Persia, 
excepting  only  the  narrow  strips  of  forest  along  the 
shores  of  the  sea  and  the  few  verdant  fields  which  here 
and  there  greet  the  eye,  and  which  are  small  oases  in  a 
broad  expanse  of  arid  plains. 

The  view  which  the  traveler  obtains  as  he  ascends 
some  high  mountain  in  that  country  is  a  fair  index  of 
the  aspect  of  all  the  interior.  He  sees  mountain  sepa- 
rated from  mountain  by  broad  plains  in  monotonous  suc- 
cession, and  all  destitute  of  verdure  and  glaring  in  the 
fierce  rays  of  an  unclouded  sun.  But  the  plains  are  not 
wholly  without  objects  of  interest.  Some  of  them  are 
covered  with  flowers  of  many  bright  colors,  among 
which  the  poppy  is  most  conspicuous,  and  the  air  is 
laden  with  the  sweet  odor  of  the  camel-thorn  and  other 
shrubs.     Could  the  traveler  climb   the  side  of  Mount 


26  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

Damavand,  and  could  his  eye  take  in  the  entire  pros- 
pect presented  from  the  summit  of  that  mountain,  he 
would  see  the  strange  contrast  between  the  aspect  of  the 
regions  of  the  interior  and  those  of  the  Caspian  coast — 
the  contrast  between  desert  and  dense  forest,  between  a 
cloudy  sky,  an  arid  and  clear  air  and  thick  vapors  ris- 
ing above  the  sea  and  forest  as  from  a  boiling  caldron. 
As  one  looks  out  upon  the  dreary  scene,  the  wide  unin- 
habited spaces,  and  perceives  no  traces  of  great  towns 
and  great  works  of  the  past  ages,  it  is  difficult  to  believe 
that  here  some  of  the  chief  cities  of  antiquity  flourished 
and  these  plains  resounded  to  the  tread  and  shout  of 
mighty  armies. 

The  greater  part  of  Eastern  Persia  is  included  within 
the  large  province  of  Khorasan,  a  name  which  means 
the  ^'  Land  of  the  Sun,''  and  which  has  often  been  ap- 
plied to  the  whole  kingdom.  It  is  a  country  which, 
though  so  widely  desert,  is  more  celebrated  in  Persian 
poetry  and  romance  than  any  other  part  of  the  land.  It 
rivals  in  the  great  deeds  of  its  people  all  other  provinces 
of  the  realm.  Here  are  laid  the  principal  scenes  of  the 
mythical  era.  Here  the  great  heroes  of  the  fabulous 
period  first  became  known  to  fame.  Here  the  Aryans 
first  made  their  homes  in  Persia.  Here  the  great  Par- 
thian kingdom  was  born.  Here  the  first  successful  revolt 
against  Arab  rule  in  Western  Asia  was  devised,  and 
hence  was  propagated  the  greatest  schism  of  the  Moham- 
medan world. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  27 

The  western  and  eastern  sections  of  the  coimtry  differ 
in  races  of  people  and  in  their  speech.  In  the  west  the 
inhabitants  are  for  the  most  part  of  either  the  Turkish 
or  the  Kurdish  race.  In  the  east,  however,  the  Aryan 
and  pure  Persian  stocks  prevail,  and  the  Persian  tongue 
is  the  language  most  commonly  used. 

The  central  districts  of  this  eastern  section  were  the 
centre  of  the  Median  kingdom.  Persia  proper  lay  to 
the  south  in  what  is  now  the  province  of  Fars,  and  Par- 
thia  proper  was  situated  in  the  north-eastern  section. 
The  great  cities  of  ancient  times  located  within  these 
boundaries  were — Raghes,  first  and  greatest;  Arsacia, 
Ra  and  Ecbatana,  and  possibly  Hecatompylos,  the  earli- 
est capital  of  Parthia.  The  most  important  cities  of  the 
present  time  are — Tehran,  the  capital ;  Hamadan,  com- 
manding the  site  of  the  ancient  Ecbatana;  Casveen, 
distinguished  once  for  its  proximity  to  Almood,  the  cap- 
ital and  fortress  of  the  Assassins ;  Rasht,  the  metropolis 
of  the  Caspian  sea-coast ;  Kashan,  once  famous  for  the 
potteries  in  its  vicinity,  and  now  noted  for  its  black 
scorpions ;  Koom,  sacred  for  the  shrine  of  Fatima,  its 
burial-place  of  kings  and  queens ;  and  Mashhad,  "  the 
holy,^'  celebrated  among  Sheahs  for  the  shrine  of  Imam 
Reza,  the  mausoleum  of  the  great  khalafah  of  Baghdad, 
and  for  its  minarets  and  domes  of  gold.  After  these 
there  is  a  number  of  second-rate  cities  and  towns,  such 
as  Simnon,  Savah,  Sabzewar,  Damgan,  Sare  and  Bar- 
frush,  having   each   from  five   to   ten   thousand   souls. 


28  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

This  entire  region,  desolate  as  it  now  is,  was  in  time  past 
the  theatre  of  great  events  and  is  rich  in  antiquities. 

Nothing  is  said  in  the  Bible  of  the  cities  of  this  part 
of  the  country.  Hamadan  is  the  only  place  in  it  which 
has  been  identified  with  a  Bible  name.  That  city  is  be- 
lieved to  represent  the  Acmetha  mentioned  in  the  book 
of  Ezra,  and  is  thought  to  have  been  the  burial-place  of 
the  famous  Queen  Esther  and  her  kinsman  Mordecai. 
The  ruins  of  Ra  are  supposed  to  occupy  the  site  of  the 
Raghes  mentioned  in  the  apocryphal  books  of  the  Old 
Testament. 

The  people  inhabiting  the  district  I  have  described  are 
for  the  most  part  of  Persian  stock,  but  there  are  many 
settlements  of  Turks  and  Kurds,  and  the  Turkish  blood 
is  mingled  with  the  Persian  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
country.  The  provinces  of  Gelan  and  Mazandaran  are 
inhabited  by  what  appear  to  be  distinct  races,  differing 
from  the  people  of  other  provinces.  But  all  these  races 
are  Mohammedans  except  a  few  feeble  and  impoverish- 
ed colonies  of  Jews,  Armenians  and  Guebers.  The  last- 
named  are  so  few  as  to  form  no  factor  of  the  popula- 
tion worthy  of  mention.  The  two  first  named  are 
widely  dispersed  in  small  colonies  in  the  cities  and 
villages. 

All  the  people,  without  exception  of  race  or  religion, 
are  extremely  poor,  save  a  very  few  men  who  have  in- 
herited titles  or  been  especially  favored  by  the  govern- 
ment.    These  men  of  wealth  do  not  usually  reside  in 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  29 

the  districts  in  which  their  estates  lie,  but  resort  to  the 
capital  and  the  large  cities.  The  people  live  in  villages 
composed  of  hovels  constructed  of  sun-dried  bricks  or 
of  mud.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  more  forlorn  and 
poverty-stricken  abodes  than  are  these  huts  of  the  poor 
peasants,  nor  can  anything  in  the  way  of  a  village  be 
imagined  more  forbidding  than  one  of  these  clusters  of 
huts  compressed  into  the  smallest  space  possible,  so  as  to 
save  expense  and  labor  in  building  the  wall  with  which 
the  place  must  be  enclosed.  Especially  dreary  do  these 
villages  appear  when  they  are  constructed  on  a  treeless 
plain  and  have  no  shade  to  relieve  the  sight  of  their 
brown  and  dingy  walls.  In  many  places,  however,  the 
unsightly  walls  are  half  concealed  by  the  dense  foliage 
of  poplar,  willow  and  sycamore  trees,  and  the  hovels 
are  separated  by  gardens  of  many  kinds  of  fruit  trees, 
and  the  narrow  streets  resound  with  the  ripple  and  fall 
of  rills  of  crystal  water. 

The  dress  and  appearance  of  the  inhabitants  of  these 
villages  are  in  keeping  with  the  aspect  of  the  hovels  in 
which  they  live.  The  females  are  representatives  of  the 
domestic  environments.  As  the  traveler  passes  through 
the  environs  or  the  narrow  streets  he  will  see  the  women 
on  the  house-tops  or  in  the  streets.  Many  of  them  have 
the  prescribed  chadur,  or  outer  mantle,  in  which  custom 
requires  them  to  appear,  but  it  is  often  thrown  loosely 
over  the  head  and  carelessly  or  not  at  all  wrapped  about 
the  person.     The  faces  of  the  women  are  in  such  places 


30  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

uncovered,  and  are  seen  to  be  careworn,  sun-burned  and 
begrimed  with  smoke  and  dirt.  The  garments  are  tat- 
tered and  dirty,  and  nearly  all  the  women  have  the  look 
which  tells  of  poverty,  privation  and  the  absence  of  the 
cheering  and  nobler  incentives  of  life.  The  apparel  of 
the  men,  as  they  are  seen  in  their  shops  or  fields,  is  not 
much  better,  but  their  faces  and  motions  show  the  in- 
fluence of  the  freer  and  more  healthful  life  of  the  field, 
for  they  live  much  of  their  time  in  the  open  air.  It 
could  not  be  reasonably  expected  that  such  a  people 
would  be  examples  of  cleanliness.  In  this  particular 
they  may  compare  well  with  the  poor  and  degraded 
of  other  countries,  but  no  European  or  North  American 
country  presents  such  a  continuous,  unmitigated  pest  of 
vermin  as  belongs  to  all  places,  persons  and  things  in 
Persia.  It  is  wellnigh  impossible  for  the  rich  and  the 
higher  classes  of  the  people  to  keep  themselves  free  of 
the  evil  so  long  as  they  conform  to  the  customs  of  the 
land.  The  peasants  and  masses  of  the  people  are  cov- 
ered with  vermin.  The  servants  of  the  rich  are  from 
these  lower  grades  of  society,  and  bear  with  them 
wherever  they  go  the  evidence  of  their  contact  with  the 
people.  The  inns  on  all  the  roads  are  caravansaries  and 
open  to  all  travelers,  and  abused  by  all.  The  beggar 
and  tramp  may  lie  down  to-night  on  the  earthen  floor  in 
the  room  wliere  to-morrow  night  the  prime  minister  or 
the  Shah  may  have  to  spread  his  carpet.  A  long  train 
of  camels  and  other  beasts  of  burden  bear  the  conveni- 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  31 

ences  and  luxuries  of  life  required  by  a  prince.  His 
tent  or  his  rooms,  all  that  are  available,  are  well  fur- 
nished after  the  Oriental  fashion,  but  the  scores  or  hun- 
dreds of  servants  of  the  prince  must  shift  for  themselves, 
and  find  lodgino^s  in  the  huts  of  the  peasants  and  in  the 
stables.  From  these  places  they  come  to  the  service  of 
their  royal  masters.  So  accustomed  are  they  to  this 
manner  of  life  that  reform  would  be  impossible  unless 
their  lords  stood  by  them  and  gave  to  them  daily  the 
care  required  by  infant  children. 

The  places  of  public  resort  are  free  to  all.  In  the 
mosques  the  people  sit  upon  the  floor;  at  home  they 
spread  their  beds  upon  the  floor.  The  public  baths  are 
underground  dens  reeking  with  filth.  All  the  people 
feel  the  result  of  the  defects  of  their  civilization  and 
habits  of  life.  Some  of  the  religious  ablutions  are 
beastly,  and  occasion  habits  which  are  prejudicial  to  the 
public  health.  Many  of  these  habits  are  purely  Ori- 
ental, and  are  practiced  by  non-Mohammedans.  They 
are  not  entirely  Mohammedan,  though  it  should  be 
known  that  the  worst  of  them  originated  with  the  Mo- 
hammedan creed  and  are  perpetuated  by  it.  It  may  be 
said  that  Christian  lands  have  hovels,  paupers  and  filth. 
A  Persian  once  said  to  me,  ^^  Show  me  in  this  land,  if 
you  can,  any  hovels  more  filthy  than  the  huts  to  be 
seen  in  Ireland.''  But  there  is  some  relief  from  the 
curse  in  European  countries.  There  are  homes  and 
inns  and  places  of  public  resort  where  one  may  be  safe 


32  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

from  annoyance  and  the  fear  of  it.  But  not  so  is  it  in 
Persia.  In  all  the  land  the  inns  are  no  better  than  sta- 
bles, and  the  keepers  of  them  do  not  know  what  cleanli- 
ness is. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Intellectual  and  Religious  State  of  the  People — Prominent  Features 
of  tlie  Religious  State — Persian  Mohammedans  extremely  Relig- 
ious— Excessive  Attention  to  Externals — The  Chief  Element  of 
Sheahisra — The  Divine  Right  of  Ale — Sacredness  of  the  Sayeds 
— Mohammedan  and  Protestant  Devotions  compared — Persian 
Superstition — Belief  in  Spirits  and  Demons:  Deves,  Jins,  Ghouls 
— Departed  Spirits — Faith  in  Talismans — The  Evil  Eye— Exam- 
ples of  Demoniacal  Possession — Exorcists — Sacred  Books  pos- 
sessing Supernatural  Power — The  Koran  in  Necromancy — The 
Armenian  Bible— Other  Books — Dreams,  Faith  in ;  Examples  of 
— Superstition  not  Confined  to  the  Lower  Classes ;  Examples — 
Superstitious  Ceremonies — Fears — Spirit  of  the  Religious  Orders 
— Characteristics — Learning  Esteemed — Kind  of  Learning — Love 
of  Religious  Discussion — Sinister  Motives  in  Discussion — As- 
cendency of  the  Secular  Authorities  over  the  Olema — Examples 
of  the  Methods  of  the  Mullahs — Cases  in  Rasht  and  Ispahan — 
Controversial  Books — Examples  of  Deception  Universal — Decep- 
tion as  an  Embellishment  of  Manners — Fraud  the  Great  Barrier 
to  Progress — Prevalent  Vices :  Intemperance ;  Opium-eating ; 
Use  of  Tobacco ;  Adultery  and  Sodomy ;  Gambling. 

11/riSSIONARY  labor  has  to  do  chiefly  with  the 
"^^  moral  and  religious  state  of  the  people,  but  it  is 
affected  iu  some  measure  by  every  interest.  It  will  be 
difficult  for  the  reader  of  these  pages  to  understand  the 
needs  of  the  Persians,  the  obstacles  to  be  met  by  the 
missionary,  or  to  perceive  what  has  been  accomplished, 
if  he  be  ignorant  of  the  intellectual  and  religious  condi- 

3  33 


34  PERSIA:  EASTERN  3IISSI0N. 

tion  of  these  people  at  the  begioning  of  missionary- 
work.  The  religious  creed  leaves  its  trace  in  the  mental 
state  which  it  creates  or  cultivates. 

If  there  were  no  restrictions  to  effort  in  behalf  of 
Mohammedans  imposed  by  the  common  law  of  the 
country,  then  missionaries  would  have  to  do  chiefly 
with  Mohammedans.  But  since  the  penalty  of  apostasy 
is  supposed  to  be  death,  their  labor  is  directed  largely 
to  Armenians  and  Jews.  Yet  much  may  be  done  direct- 
ly and  indirectly  for  the  Mohammedan  Persians.  They 
are  not,  therefore,  to  be  left  out  of  a  description  of  the 
people.  Mohammedans  constitute  the  bulk  of  the  pop- 
ulation, an  overwhelming  majority,  in  comparison  with 
which  the  non-Mohammedans  make  but  an  insignificant 
company.  Mohammedan  influence  is  everywhere  evi- 
dent and  paramount,  and  whatever  affects  them  touches 
their  subject  races.  For  these  and  other  reasons,  which 
need  not  be  stated  here,  the  missionary  is  deeply  con- 
cerned over  their  condition.  I  here  note  some  of  the 
prominent  features  of  this  condition. 

They  are  extremely  religious.  Christianity  does  not  in 
any  place  nor  in  any  sect  present  such  excessive  concern 
for  the  externals  of  religion  as  does  Sheahism.  I  be- 
lieve that  the  Persians  are  more  religious  than  Turks  or 
Arabs.  Their  religious  creed  has  all  the  essential  doc- 
trines of  Islam  and  other  tenets  in  addition.  It  has 
all  the  incentives  of  Suueeism  to  religious  observances, 
and  other  motives  which  the  ^unee  h^s  not.     The  chief 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  36 

doctrine  of  the  Sheah  sect  is  an  element  of  enthusiasm 
additional  to  all  tliat  is  furnished  in  the  so-called  ortho- 
dox faith.  The  doctrine  of  elective  succession  to  the 
khalafate,  the  tenet  of  the  Sunee,  is  less  calculated  to 
sanctify  the  object  of  choice  than  the  doctrine  of  divine 
right,  believed  by  the  Sheah.  He  holds  that  the  apos- 
tles of  his  order  possessed  by  divine  appointment  their 
right  to  rule  all  Mohammedans.  To  him  these  per- 
sons are  really  objects  of  adoration.  Immeasurable 
degrees  of  merit  are  obtained  by  the  reverence  of  these 
apostles.  In  the  course  of  time  the  number  of  sayeds 
has  become  too  great  for  computation.  Their  tombs 
are  conspicuous  objects  in  nearly  every  village  and  city. 
To  these  shrines  the  people  resort  for  the  special  benefits 
which  are  believed  to  be  conferred  by  these  saints. 

A  Sheah  endeavors  to  observe  all  the  ceremonies 
prescribed  by  the  Koran  and  many  others  required  by 
the  traditions.  He  prays  five  times  a  day.  Many  ab- 
lutions are  to  be  performed.  A  mistake  in  the  repeti- 
tion of  the  prescribed  prayer  makes  a  new  effort  at  rep- 
etition necessary.  One  day  in  the  week,  if  not  oftener, 
he  must  go  to  the  shrine  of  some  sayed,  and  on  Friday 
— his  Sabbath — he  must  go  to  the  mosque  for  public  wor- 
ship. Besides  this,  he  has  a  penance  in  the  form  of  an 
ablution  or  a  prayer  or  alms  to  be  performed  as  an 
atonement  for  certain  sins.  He  must  keep  during  the 
year  many  feasts,  and  must  fast  during  the  month  of 
Ramazan.     Sin,   he   believes,   is   obliterated   and   merit 


36  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

{  obtaiDed  by  every  repetitiou  of  the  uame  of  God  and 
'  of  a  verse  of  the  Koran  or  of  a  name  of  an  Imam.  It 
should  not  be  supposed  that  a  Mohammedan's  prayer 
is  so  easy  a  thing  as  that  to  which  a  Protestant  has 
been  accustomed.  His  head  must  touch  the  earth  In 
prayer.  The  Persian  finds  special  merit  in  having  his 
forehead  touch  a  small  cake  of  the  sacred  soil  of  Kar- 
balah.  With  this  cake  of  earth  he  is  prepared  to  say 
his  prayers  in  any  place,  and  can  safely  kneel  on  his 
bed  or  on  his  carpet.  But  in  every  prayer  he  must 
consider  well  the  points  of  the  compass.  All  his  devo- 
tions would  be  vitiated  were  he  to  bow  his  head  toward 
any  other  place  than  the  Kabah.  There  are  movements 
and  positions  of  the  head,  knees,  hands  and  limbs 
which  require  great  care  and  precision.  The  perform- 
ances for  the  shrines  are  prescribed  with  minuteness. 
The  Mohammedan  is  proud  of  his  dexterity  and  grace 
of  motion  in  prayer.  In  addition  to  the  usual  round 
of  orthodox  ceremonies,  the  Sheah  has  those  which 
commemorate  the  Imams.  These  are  the  wailiugs  of 
Moharam  and  of  other  seasons. 

The  Persian  Sheahs  are  very  superstitious.  They 
have  a  great  fear  of  the  supernatural.  This  is  a  trait 
of  the  adherents  of  all  false  religions.  The  manifesta- 
tions of  this  feeling  are  curious,  and  a  refutation  of  the 
religion  is  often  seen  in  the  removal  of  the  cause  of 
superstition.  The  belief  in  spirits,  demons  and  demon- 
iacal possessions  is  common.     There  is  much  indistinct- 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  37 

ness  in  their  notions  of  these  superhuman  beings.  The 
names  most  commonly  used  to  denote  them  are  deves, 
jins  and  ghouls.  The  first  named  are  devils,  or  evil 
beings  supposed  to  inhabit  forests  and  desert  places,  to 
exist  in  a  human  body  of  uncouth  and  fierce  aspect 
and  to  possess  superhuman  power,  but  of  satauic  and 
evil  intent.  They  are  supposed  to  be  influenced  by 
Satan,  the  great  deve.  It  is  true,  I  believe,  that  the 
name  is  sometimes  applied  to  wild  animals,  but  only 
because  of  a  fancied  resemblance.  The  simple-minded 
peasants  seem  to  think  that  the  wild  men,  as  apes  and 
some  other  animals,  are  veritable  deves.  The  jins  are 
often  confounded  with  the  deves  in  the  popular  super- 
stitions, yet  a  distinction  is  made  between  the  two  in 
the  Koran.  The  former  are  commonly  understood  to 
be  rational  and  invisible  beings  intermediate  between 
angels  and  men,  and  are  either  good  or  bad.  The 
Koran  preserves  something  of  the  ancient  myths  con- 
cerning the  genii,  and  furnishes  the  foundation  for  the 
notions  entertained  by  the  common  people.  The  word 
ghoul  is  purely  Persian,  and  is  used  to  denote  a  being 
which  is,  in  part,  both  man  and  beast,  and  which  in- 
habits the  desert.  It  is  of  great  strength,  but  of  little 
wisdom,  and  feasts  on  the  bodies  slain  by  the  king  of 
death.  The  conception  seems  to  be  essentially  that  of 
the  old  myth  of  the  satyr  modified  by  Pei'sian  imagina- 
tion. The  belief  in  the  existence  of  these  monsters  ia 
as  commonly  present  as  is  the  belief  in  the  being  of 


38  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

deves  and  jins :  it  furnishes  the  source  of  many  of  the 
large  stock  of  Persian  tales. 

The  belief  in  the  return  to  earth  of  departed  spirits  is 
universal  in  Persia.  So  is  the  notion  of  the  direct  inter- 
position in  human  affairs  of  both  good  and  bad  spirits. 
Evil  spirits  are  thought  to  take  possession  of  human 
beings  because  of  sin  or  omission  of  a  duty,  as  the 
neglect  of  a  fast  or  a  prayer.  It  might  be  conjectured 
that  a  mind  filled  with  notions  of  this  sort  would  be 
greatly  disturbed  by  anticipation  of  danger.  So  it  would 
be  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  power  and  influence 
of  the  evil  beings  may  be  broken  by  talismans,  prayers, 
fasts  and  interpositions  of  saints.  Bad  spirits  are  sup- 
posed to  cause  harm  to  man  or  beast  by  what  is  called 
the  "  evil  eye."  The  term  is  commonly  used.  It  means 
that  a  person  may  look  upon  an  object  with  such  a  sinful 
feeling  as  to  cause  an  evil  spirit  to  inflict  some  injury  on 
the  object.  A  person  was  looking  at  and  admiring  a 
beautiful  donkey.  When  the  owner  mounted  it  and 
rode  off  the  animal  seemed  to  be  lame.  The  owner  could 
conjecture  no  other  reason  for  the  lameness  except  that  the 
man  who  praised  it  had  communicated  to  the  creature  the 
evil  eye.  Some  persons  are  thought  to  have  the  power 
of  summoning  an  evil  spirit  by  a  look  of  the  eye.  The 
power  is  an  unfortunate  possession,  for  most  persons  are 
anxious  to  be  rid  of  a  man  having  such  a  baneful  influ- 
ence. It  is  sometimes  seriously  charged  by  one  man 
against  another  that  he  possesses  this  power  and  has 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  39 

used  it  for  doing  evil.  The  charge  is  sometimes  made 
the  pretext  for  extortion  in  the  way  of  damages.  A 
servant  was  once  riding  a  fine  horee  down  the  mountain, 
when  the  animal  fell  and  was  seriously  hurt.  The  only 
excuse  made  by  the  man  to  his  master  was  that  at  the 
instant  the  horse  fell  he  was  admiring  it  and  feeling 
great  pride  on  account  of  the  beauty  and  excellence  of 
the  horse,  and  must  have  given  it  an  evil  eye. 

Another  form  of  spirit  interposition  is  in  the  way  of 
demoniacal  possession,  by  which  is  meant  that  an  evil 
spirit  enters  a  person,  whom  it  controls  continuously  or 
periodically.  Certain  diseases  are  thought  to  come  from 
Satanic  influence.  Exorcism  naturally  follows  belief  in 
demons.  There  are  professional  exorcists.  Some  of  the 
mullahs  are  believed  to  have  power  over  spirits.  Exor- 
cists are  not  only  known  among  Mohammedans,  but 
with  Jews  and  Armenians.  Exorcism  is  a  distinct  func- 
tion of  an  order  of  the  clergy  in  the  Armenian  Church. 
To  this  office  men  are  regularly  ordained.  The  function 
is  exercised  by  Armenians  and  Jews  as  a  means  of  gain, 
and  large  sums  are  paid  in  some  instances  for  casting  out 
an  evil  spirit.  The  arts  practiced  for  this  purpose  are 
many.  The  Koran  or  some  other  sacred  book  is  read, 
prayers  are  recited  and  talismans  used.  The  exorcist  is 
often  discreet  enough  to  perceive  that  the  supposed  pos- 
session is  the  effect  of  disease,  and  he  administers  a  nos- 
trum which  brings  notoriety  and  the  coveted  reward. 
A  man  who  had  traveled  over  a  wide  extent  of  country 


40  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

uslug  the  pretended  gift  informed  me  that  he  had  effected 
many  cures.  He  seemed  sincerely  to  believe  the  com- 
mon superstition.  It  is  not  strange  that  one  brought  up 
among  the  people  should  so  think.  The  exorcists  of  the 
Armenian  Church  are  often  put  to  it  to  find  subjects  on 
which  to  exercise  their  gifts.  Their  province,  however, 
is  understood  to  embrace,  I  believe,  spiritual  errore  and 
corrupt  agents,  as  well  as  the  demons.  The  presence  of 
this  office  in  the  Armenian  Church  may  with  reason  be 
thought  to  have  come  from  the  earliest  days  of  the 
Church. 

The  superstition  of  Persians  invests  all  sacred  books 
with  supernatural  influence.  That  power  is  shown  in 
the  control  of  spirits  and  in  many  other  ways.  A 
mullah,  in  discussing  the  merits  of  the  Koran,  related 
his  own  experience  to  me  as  evidence  of  the  divine  origin 
of  that  book.  "  One  day,"  said  he,  "  my  knife  was 
stolen.  I  did  not  know  who  had  taken  it,  but  I  deter- 
mined to  try  and  find  out  the  tliief.  I  wrote  a  verse  of 
the  Koran  on  three  strips  of  paper,  and  on  the  back  of 
each  strip  I  wrote  the  name  of  a  suspected  person.  Then 
I  made  three  little  balls  of  clay,  and  put  one  strip  of 
paper  in  each  ball.  I  then  put  the  balls  in  a  basin  of 
water.  They  all  sank  at  once,  but  the  clay  of  one  soon 
parted  and  dissolved,  and  the  paper  which  I  had  put  in 
it  rose  to  the  top  of  the  water.  I  read  on  it  the  name  of 
the  suspected  person.  I  went  to  him  and  accused  him 
of  the  theft.     He  immediately  confessed,  and  gave  up 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  41 

ray  knife.  Such  is  the  power  of  the  Koran."  The  book 
is  often  suspended  over  the  door  or  above  the  highway, 
that  the  charm  of  it  may  be  felt  by  all  who  pass  beneath 
it.  It  is  laid  on  the  sick.  Its  verses  are  written  on  bits 
of  paper,  and  these  are  placed  on  those  parts  of  the  body 
which  appear  to  be  the  seat  of  the  disease.  Some  per- 
sons will  not  undertake  a  journey  until  a  favorable  omen 
has  been  obtained  by  opening  the  book  at  a  passage  un- 
derstood to  be  prophetic  of  good  luck.  The  stars  are 
often  consulted,  but  the  Koran  has  to  a  great  extent 
taken  the  place  of  the  ancient  astrology,  though  it  should 
be  said  that  the  science  of  astrology  is  now  closely  con- 
nected with  the  mystic  numbers  and  words  of  the  Koran 
and  other  books. 

The  practice  of  seeking  favorable  omens  is  not  con- 
fined to  Mohammedans,  but  is  common  with  Christians 
and  other  sects,  each  one  using  its  own  sacred  books  and 
paraphernalia  of  worship.  The  Armenian  Bible  is  an 
oracle  for  Armenians  in  more  ways  than  the  true  way. 
A  like  use  of  the  Old  Testament  and  of  the  Gammora 
is  made  by  Jews.  Sometimes  an  old  Bible  or  other  book 
is  made  famous  for  working  miracles  and  effecting  cures 
of  disease,  and  the  people  come  from  far  to  receive  the 
benefits  of  its  charm. 

Dreams  are  firmly  believed  to  be  revelations  of  future 
events.  The  knowledge  of  them  has  been  reduced  to  a 
science.  They  have  been  carefully  analyzed,  and  are 
divided  into  the  portentous  and  the  unportentous.     The 


42  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

prophetic  class  are  minutely  described.  But  few  of  the 
people  understand  the  complicated  science.  They  are 
governed  by  their  own  forebodings  as  to  the  import  of 
their  dreams,  and  it  is  believed  that  they  are  not  slow  to 
invent  dreams  to  meet  exigencies  of  their  callings.  It  is 
a  common  thing  for  a  Persian  to  begin  a  request  by  re- 
lating a  dream  in  which  he  describes  in  a  very  graphic 
way  all  the  conditions  which  he  hopes  will  be  fulfilled 
by  you.  This  belief  is  not  confined  to  the  illiterate,  but 
is  prevalent  with  all  classes.  A  learned  mullah,  speak- 
ing to  me  of  his  faith  in  dreams  and  in  the  Koran, 
related  the  following :  ^'  Of  all  the  members  of  the 
household,  we  honor  and  love  the  grandmother  most.  I 
loved  my  grandmother  very  much,  and  when  she  died  I 
was  lonely,  and  neglected  to  read  the  Koran  as  I  used  to 
do  when  she  was  living.  After  a  time  I  forgot  to  read 
for  the  repose  of  her  soul.  So  time  went  on  :  autumn 
came  and  the  cool  nights,  and  we  took  our  beds  from  the 
roof  and  spread  them  at  night  in  the  court.  But  there 
came  a  change  and  the  air  was  close  and  hot,  so  that  I 
ordered  that  my  bed  should  be  taken  to  the  roof  again. 
One  night  I  sat  up  in  the  court  a  long  time  after  the 
other  members  of  the  family  had  gone  to  sleep,  and  I 
thought  of  many  things  which  had  happened  in  the  past 
year.  At  last  I  went  up  to  bed,  having  my  cloak  over 
me,  and  thinking  I  would  lie  down  for  a  part  of  the 
night  only,  and  that  after  midnight  it  might  be  too  cold 
to  remain  on  the  roof.     How  long  a  time  I  had  been 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  43 

tliere,  and  whether  I  was  awake  or  asleep,  I  can  hardly 
telh  I  saw  a  form  in  indistinct  outlines  near  the  farther 
side  of  the  roof  slowly  moving  in  the  darkness.  As  I 
looked  upon  it,  thinking  it  might  be  some  member  of 
my  family,  I  saw  that  it  came  on  toward  me,  and  I  could 
see  something  of  the  features.  A  chadur  covered  in 
part  the  head  and  shoulders  and  fell  about  the  person. 
As  the  form  came  nearer  in  slow  and  measured  motion 
and  without  seeming  to  touch  the  ground,  I  perceived 
that  the  eyes  were  intently  fixed,  that  the  face  was  serious 
and  stern,  and  that  an  uplifted  hand  threatened  me.  As 
the  spectre  approached  I  discerned  its  unearthly  look  and 
bearing,  and  knew  that  a  being  from  the  unseen  world  was 
approaching.  Springing  from  my  bed  as  the  spectre  came 
nearer,  and  stepping  backward,  I  cried,  ^  Who  are  you  V 
But  the  form  silently  continued  its  steady  approach, 
coming  frightfully  near.  I  stepped  backward  ;  again  it 
came  on.  I  moved  back  again,  looking  all  the  time 
toward  it.  It  came  forward  as  I  retreated,  until  at 
last  I  became  conscious  of  a  deeper  darkness  below  me, 
and  that  I  stood  upon  the  verge  of  the  roof,  whence 
another  step  could  not  be  taken.  The  thought  flashed 
on  my  mind,  ^  This  spirit  intends  to  kill  me.'  Then, 
looking  in  despair  and  horror,  I  saw  it  was  my  grand- 
mother. ^Oh,  mother!'  I  cried, 'will  you  kill  me? 
Spare  me  now,  and  I  promise  to  offer  the  korbon  and  to 
read  three  suras  on  next  Friday  night.'  I  awoke.  The 
next  day  T  told  my  wife  what  I  had  dreamed,  and  I  saidy 


44  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

*  I  have  promised  grandmother  to  read  three  suras  on  next 
Friday  night.  Do  not  let  me  forget  it.  If  I  do,  she 
will  kill  me.'  Friday  night  came.  I  had  gone  to  bed, 
and  was  just  about  to  put  out  the  light  when  I  thought 
of  my  promise.  I  arose  and  read  the  three  suras.  From 
that  day  to  this,  now  nine  years,  my  grandmother  has  not 
appeared  to  me.  Such  are  the  charm  and  power  of  the 
Koran." 

These  superstitions  seem  to  be  stronger  with  the 
higher  classes  and  learned  men  than  with  the  illiterate — 
a  fact  accounted  for  by  the  teachings  of  their  religious 
books.  A  mujtaheed  holding  a  high  position,  once  con- 
versing with  me  and  speaking  of  the  curing  of  the  sick 
by  prayers  and  charms,  claimed  to  have  cured  many  per- 
sons. When  asked  to  describe  the  process  by  which  he 
cured,  he  spoke  of  different  things ;  among  them  was 
this — namely,  to  kindle  a  fire  near  the  head  and  feet  of 
the  sick  and  to  burn  passages  of  the  Koran  written  on 
bits  of  paper,  also  to  burn  prayers  written  for  the  pur- 
pose. It  is  impossible  for  a  person  who  has  not  associ- 
ated with  Persians  to  understand  the  fear  to  which  they 
are  all  their  lives  in  bondage,  or  the  heavy  burdens  in 
the  way  of  religious  ceremonies  which  they  have  put 
upon  themselves.  With  them  every  act  has  its  danger 
of  defilement  and  its  ceremony  of  purification.  The 
tears  shed  in  the  religious  weepings  are  bottled,  and 
used  to  cure  the  sick  and  poured  out  as  libations.  Says 
one  of  the  Persian  teachers :  "  A  tear  shed  in  weeping 


Mullahs. 


Pase  45. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  47 

for  Hassan  and  Hosein  will  wash  away  the  sins  of  a 
lifetime/' 

We  can  form  no  adequate  conception  of  the  amount 
of  thought  which  must  be  given  by  these  people  to 
religious  convictions.  The  superstitious  mind  is  won- 
derfully prolific  in  the  products  of  the  imagination. 
These  statements  relate  especially  to  Mohammedans, 
but  they  are  true,  to  a  great  extent,  of  all  the  sects  of 
Persia.  The  nominal  Christians  and  the  Jews  feel  the 
influence  of  their  rulers,  and  there  has  been  some  rival- 
ry between  them  and  the  Mohammedans  in  the  matter 
of  traditions  and  religious  feasts,  fasts  and  rites,  and 
they  have  borrowed  from  one  another.  The  cross,  chal- 
ice, wafer,  chrism  and  paraphernalia  of  the  Church  are 
invested  by  the  imagination  of  Armenians  and  Moham- 
medans with  a  supernatural  charm  and  virtue. 

The  spirit  of  the  religious  orders  furnishes  some  in- 
sight to  the  religious  state  of  the  people.  The  mullahs 
may  be  called  the  priests  of  the  Mohammedans.  But 
Islam  has  no  sacrificial  service,  and  the  mullahs  are 
more  properly  termed  teachers  and  preachers  or  minis- 
ters of  religion.  Many  of  them  are  ministers  without  a 
charge,  and  never  officiate  before  a  congregation.  It  is 
not  my  purpose  to  give  here  a  description  of  the  common 
offices  and  duties  of  these  men  :  this  has  been  written 
in  another  volume.  I  wish  now  to  give  an  under- 
standing of  the  spirit  and  temper  of  the  mullahs,  and 
to  show  how  they  are  affected  toward  religious  truth. 


48  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

One  notable  feature  of  their  condition  is  their  great 
esteem  for  learning.  They  prize  all  learning,  but 
especially  that  which  they  have  been  taught  to  consider 
such.  The  knowledge  which  they  covet  is  that  which 
they  have  been  trained  to  consider  most  desirable :  it  is 
the  knowledge  of  their  own  religious  system.  It  may 
be  true  that  many  of  these  men  are  more  desirous  of 
the  reputation  for  wisdom  than  for  the  actual  possession 
of  it,  but  even  this  desire  shows  that  in  their  judgment 
learning  has  a  value.  It  must  be  confessed  that  many 
of  them  are  very  zealous  for  knowledge,  and  very  labor- 
ious in  their  pursuit  of  it.  Some  of  them  spend  the 
greater  part  of  a  lifetime  in  preparatory  study.  We 
have  in  Christian  lands  but  few  examples  of  such  long- 
continued  and  intense  application  of  mind  in  the  way  of 
preparation  as  is  furnished  by  the  best  representatives 
of  Islam.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  this  zeal  and  labor  are 
not  directed  to  the  investigation  of  all  knowledge,  or 
of  something  better  than  the  theology  and  rites  of 
Islam.  In  fact,  the  greater  part  of  this  study  is  de- 
voted to  the  discussions  on  the  proper  manner  of  ob- 
serving the  rites — how  these  are  vitiated  and  how  made 
meritorious.  As  their  whole  system  is  one  of  justifica- 
tion by  ceremonies,  we  can  understand  how  important 
this  study  must  be  thought  by  them,  and  how  valuable 
in  their  estimation  a  thorough  knowledge  of  fasts,  ablu- 
tions, prayers,  pilgrimages  and  the  whole  round  of  rites 
must  be.     There  is  a  course  of  secular  study  prepara- 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  3fISSI0N.  49 

tory  to  the  study  of  sacred  things  which  they  value  for 
its  relation  to  the  latter.  Arabic  grammar,  logic,  as- 
tronomy and  astrology  are  thought  to  be  important 
subjects  of  study.  These  people  have  a  very  extensive 
literature  relating  to  religious  subjects.  Many  books 
have  been  written  by  Sheahs  concerning  the  question  of 
the  succession  in  the  khalafate  and  on  the  sayings  and 
example  of  the  twelve  Imams.  Persian  mullahs  have 
very  little  or  no  knowledge  of  geography,  mathematics 
and  the  natural  sciences.  They  know  nothing  of  any 
branch  of  learning  which  could  give  them  an  acquaint- 
ance with  anything  outside  of  the  range  of  their  own 
religion. 

Another  prominent  trait  of  these  men  is  their  love 
of  discussion  about  religious  matters.  Some  of  them 
have  gained  from  their  own  books  and  from  controver- 
sial works  some  knowledge  of  the  principal  points  of 
controversy  between  Islam  and  other  religions,  espe- 
cially the  Christian  religion.  They  have  the  Koran's 
statements  with  reference  to  the  divinity  of  Christ  and 
the  Trinity.  Every  book  written  against  Mohamme- 
danism is  sure  to  call  out  one  or  more  replies.  They 
have,  in  Persian,  works  written  in  refutation  of  Juda- 
ism composed  by  apostate  Jews,  and  in  refutation  of 
Christianity  prepared  by  converts  to  Islam  from  the 
ranks  of  the  nominal  Christians.  Controversy  seems  to 
possess  remarkable  power  to  stir  up  an  evil  spirit  in 
these  mullahs.     Argument  incites  them  to  deeds  of  vie- 


50  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

lence  in  a  marked  degree.  They  are  wanting  too  much 
in  honesty  to  feel  the  force  of  argument.  This  state- 
ment is  true  of  the  majority,  not  of  all  the  ministers  of 
Islam.  It  is  commonly  said  by  them  that  he  who  is 
not  convinced  by  the  proofs  of  Islam  can  be  converted 
only  by  a  club  or  a  sword.  Argument  on  their  part  is 
the  commonly  designed  prelude  to  violence.  The  proofs 
of  Islam,  they  say,  are  infallible,  and  it  is  the  duty  of 
all  men  to  accept  them  :  he  who  does  not  is  worthy 
of  death. 

No  confidence  is  to  be  reposed  in  the  semblance  of 
kindness  and  friendship  with  which  the  Persian  begins 
his  argument.  His  opponent  is  safe  only  when  he  has 
physical  force  at  his  command  sufficient  for  his  pro- 
tection. Henry  Martyn  during  his  stay  in  Shiraz  is 
said  to  have  held  many  discussions  with  the  Persian 
mullahs,  but  had  there  been  no  British  government 
known  to  the  olama  of  that  city,  Martyn  would  have 
fared  badly,  I  conjecture.  Tact  and  friendship  may 
protect  some  persons  and  bring  them  great  liberty  of 
speech  and  action.  These  qualities  sometimes  protect 
the  feeble  from  the  rage  of  wild  beasts.  But  I  speak 
of  Persians  in  general,  not  of  exceptions.  There  has 
been  great  improvement  within  the  past  few  years  in 
the  spirit  and  conduct  of  the  olama.  I  will  not  speak 
of  the  reason  of  the  chau^e.  But  it  is  not  so  thorouerh 
and  radical  as  to  have  abolished  the  disposition  and 
custom  of  which  I  speak.     The  secular  authorities  have 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  51 

gained  some  advantage  over  the  mullahs.  The  power 
of  the  priesthood  is  not  so  great  in  secular  aifairs  as  it 
once  was.  But  it  is  yet  common  for  mullahs  to  intro- 
duce a  trial  with  argument  to  pave  the  way  for  violence. 
.The  usual  expression  with  which  a  Mohammedan  begins 
his  argument  is :  "  This  discussion  is  to  be  continued 
until  either  you  shall  have  converted  me  or  I  shall  have 
convinced  you.''  No  words  can  truly  describe  the 
cruelty  and  violence  to  which  Mohammedans  resort 
when  they  have  liberty  to  follow  their  inclinations.  An 
Armenian  was  accused  before  a  mujtaheed  of  Rasht  of 
the  crime  of  adultery.  Obeying  the  summons,  he  came 
to  the  house  of  the  mujtaheed  and  sat  down  on  the 
pavement  near  the  wall  of  the  house  while  the  mullah 
was  hearing  Mohammedan  witnesses  in  an  upper  room. 
The  instant  that  the  mujtaheed  pronounced  the  man 
guilty,  one  of  his  servants  took  an  iron  mangal  full  of 
live  coals  and  threw  it  from  the  upper  window  upon 
the  head  of  the  condemned  man  as  he  sat  in  the  court. 
The  rabble  then  tied  a  rope  to  his  feet  and  dragged  the 
mangled  body  through  the  streets.  It  is  true  that  the 
Shah  reproved  the  conduct  of  the  mujtaheed,  but  he 
inflicted  no  punishment  except  to  consign  the  priest  to  a 
residence  of  several  months  in  one  of  his  palaces  in  the 
suburbs  of  Tehran.  Several  persons  charged  with  being 
Baubs  were  arrested  in  a  village  about  nine  farasaks 
from  Ispahan.  The  accused  were  brought  before  the 
shaik  al  Islam.     The  investigation  opened  with  a  dis- 


52  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

cusslon.  Ooe  of  the  accused,  Kazim,  asked  the  shaik 
if  he  believed  the  New  Testament,  and  on  the  shaik 
replying  that  he  did,  Kazim  replied,  ^^  Then  you  must 
find  testimony  to  Mohammed  in  the  New  Testament, 
for  that  book  was  written  before  Mohammed/'  Where- 
upon the  shaik  cried  out,  "  Kafir  !  infidel !''  and  ordered 
that  Kazim  be  slain.  The  man  was  then  led  away  to 
the  place  of  execution  and  beheaded. 

I  have  mentioned  the  influence  of  controversial  books 
in  Persia.  In  illustration  of  this  I  will  quote  a  few  ex- 
tracts from  my  journal :  "  After  public  worship  to-day  a 
rozakhan  and  two  young  mullahs  remained  to  talk  with 
us.  After  asking  what  proof  I  had  that  no  other  law- 
giver or  saviour  should  arise  after  Christ,  and  being  ad- 
vised to  read  the  New  Testament  to  find  the  answer  of 
his  question,  the  young  man  drew  from  beneath  his  coat 
a  book  written  in  Persian  and  entitled  Nusrat  id  Deen^ 
^The  Defence  of  the  Faith,'  and  said  that  the  book 
proved  clearly  the  authority  of  Mohammed  from  both  the 
Old  and  the  New  Testaments.  The  passages  quoted  from 
the  Old  Testament  were  such  as  declared  the  blessings  of 
Esau,  but  no  mention  was  made  of  the  blessings  of  Isaac." 
Again :  "  I  have  been  detained  by  a  discussion  with  a 
mullah,  who  has  been  very  inquisitive.  He  brought  to 
me  a  book  entitled  Sef  ul  Ommah,  ^  The  Sword  of  the 
People,'  a  controversial  work  of  Islam.  It  was  written 
by  Hajah  Mullah  Ahmad.  A  Jewish  rabbi  of  Kashan, 
near  which  city  Ahmad  lived,  tells  me  that  Ahmad  sent 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  53 

his  SOD  to  the  Jewish  rabbis  to  hear  the  Old  TestameDt 
read  and  interpreted,  with  the  express  purpose  of  writ- 
ing this  book.  He  says  also  that  the  occasion  inducing 
the  mullah  to  write  the  work  was  the  receipt  by  Fattah 
Ale  Shah  of  a.  controversial  work  from  London,  to  which 
the  Shah  desired  that  an  answer  should  be  composed. 
He  says  that  Ahmad  spent  three  years  in  the  preparation 
of  the  book.^^  Again  I  find  this  note  :  "  There  has  been 
much  discussion  of  late  among  the  mullahs  of  Tehran. 
It  appears  that  the  book  ^  Scale  of  Truth '  [Mezon  al  HaU] 
was  reported  to  the  mujtaheed  Ah  Said  Saduk,  who  on 
reading  it  wrote  a  complaint  to  the  governor  of  the  city 
concerning  the  circulation  and  publication  of  such  books. 
The  governor  replied  that  the  work  was  published  in  In- 
dia, and  that  he  could  not  call  the  British  government 
to  account  for  it,  but  the  best  thing  to  be  done  was  that 
he,  Saduk,  should  compose  an  answer." 

Love  of  controversy  is  not  confined  to  Persian  Mo- 
hammedans, but  is  a  marked  trait  of  all  Persians.  It 
has  peculiar  development  with  Sheahs.  The  Sheah  en- 
ters into  a  controversy  with  a  relish,  and  he  is  very  cer- 
tain to  come  out  of  it  either  a  winner  or  mad  as  a  hornet. 
But  Persians  of  other  beliefs  show  that  they  would  do  as 
he  does  if  they  could.  If  they  have  been  instructed  by 
him,  they  have  been  apt  pupils. 

Deception  is  another  trait  of  Persian  character.  It 
should  not  be  represented,  as  it  has  been  by  some  trav- 
elers, as  an  amiable  weakness  and  an  excess  of  the  good 


54  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  IIISSTON. 

quality  called  courtesy.  True,  it  enters  into  all  the  acts 
of  a  Persian's  life.  As  an  embellishment  of  manners  it 
may  be  more  tolerable  than  in  other  matters.  But  so 
strong  is  a  Persian's  propensity  to  put  on  the  semblance 
of  truth  that  every  profession  of  his  is  to  be  received 
with  allowance.  The  deception  he  practices  is  good  evi- 
dence of  his  knowledge  of  the  natural  expression  of 
truth.  He  can  imitate  or  put  on  the  outward  appearance 
of  every  virtue  and  good  quality.  How  can  one  dissem- 
ble so  accurately  without  knowing  what  is  truth  ?  The 
semblance  itself  is  proof  of  the  perception  of  what  is 
true  and  good.  His  deception  as  an  embellishment  of 
manners  becomes  in  time  intolerable,  and  as  a  means  of 
paving  the  way  to  cruelty  it  is  shocking.  The  verdant 
stranger  and  traveler  in  that  land  may  be  soothed  with 
assurance  given  that  after  hours  of  weary  riding  he  is 
now  near  the  place  of  rest,  and  the  assurance  may  give 
some  spirit  for  the  remaining  long  and  tedious  march ; 
but  when  these  delightful  embellishments  lead  him  into 
darkness  where  he  expects  light,  and  over  rocks  and  a 
rugged  way  where  he  was  led  to  believe  he  would  find  a 
smooth  road,  he  learns  that  there  is  something  more  val- 
uable than  the  ornaments  of  speech.  The  Persian  may 
offer  you  his  eye,  his  head,  his  house  and  his  lands  free, 
and  to  emphasize  the  generous  offer  may  solemnly  lay 
his  hand  on  his  heart  or  his  eye ;  but  the  wayfarer  may 
be  assured  that  it  is  all  for  ornament,  and  that  instead  of 
giving,  the  cheat  expects  pay  for  everything,  with  an  ex- 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  55 

tra  karan  added  for  the  courtesies  and  ornaments.  The 
sober  declaration  made  to  me  by  a  venerable  mullah  is 
very  significant  of  the  tendencies  of  Persians  when  he 
said,  "During  the  blessed  month  of  Ramazan  all  the 
people  abstain  from  food  and  drink,  and  the  better  class 
abstain  from  lying  also." 

While  these  statements  are  true  of  the  Persians  as  a 
whole,  there  are  many  Persians  of  intelligence  whose 
word  is  reliable  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  social  and  bus- 
iness life.  But  the  insecurity  of  property  and  traffic 
through  the  prevalence  of  deception  and  fraud  is,  more 
than  any  other  thing,  the  great  barrier  to  commerce  with 
Persia  and  to  the  general  progress  and  improvement  of 
that  country. 

Deception  may  be  called  a  national  vice  in  Persia,  but 
it  is  not  the  only  one.  The  prevalent  vices  in  that  coun- 
try are  nearly  the  same  as  are  seen  in  other  lands.  The 
use  of  alcohol  and  intoxicating  drinks  is  not  a  national 
vice  of  Persia.  Mohammedan  law  and  the  public  senti- 
ment of  the  nation  are  against  the  manufacture,  sale  and 
use  of  all  kinds  of  alcoholic  and  spirituous  drinks.  The 
proportion  of  drinkers  to  the  Mussulman  population  must 
be  very  small.  In  the  absence  of  statistics  we  are  left 
to  conjecture.  Large  quantities  of  wine  aud  brandy  are 
manufactured,  and  a  large  amount  is  imported.  But  the 
total  amount  is  small  compared  with  the  products  of  the 
manufactories  of  other  countries.  There  are  no  distille- 
ries in  the  land.    Whatever  liquor  is  manufactured  is  made 


56  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

in  the  dwellings  of  Armenians,  Jews  and  Guebers.  In 
the  cities  there  is  a  large  number  of  drinkers,  not  only 
among  non-Mohammedans,  but  among  the  Mussulmans 
also.  Prohibitive  orders  are  sometimes  issued,  but  these 
are  spasmodic  efforts.  The  chief  officers  of  state  are 
sometimes  the  worst  drinkers.  The  country  at  large, 
however,  is  wellnigh  free  from  the  sale  and  use  of  alco- 
hol. There  is  not  an  open  and  public  liquor-saloon  in 
the  kingdom.  The  manufacture  and  sale  are  the  privi- 
lege and  disgrace  of  the  Christians  and  Jews. 

Although  such  is  the  state  of  the  liquor-traffic,  the 
Persians  make  up  for  the  loss  of  w^iiskey  by  the  use  of 
opium  and  tobacco.  The  proportion  of  opium-eaters 
and  smokers  may  safely  be  conjectured  to  be  as  large  as 
is  the  number  of  drinkers  in  other  countries.  There  are 
many  Persians  who  use  the  deadly  hasheesh,  and  many 
take  arsenic.  No  vice  is  so  prevalent  with  Europeans 
as  is  the  use  of  tobacco  among  Persians.  Every  Persian 
man  and  woman  smokes  the  kalyon.  This  pipe  is  seen  in 
every  place  where  Persians  are  to  be  found.  It  is  carried 
on  the  highway  by  every  Persian  traveler ;  it  is  seen  in 
every  shop  in  the  bazar  and  in  every  dwelling  in  the 
laud.  The  smoke  of  the  kalyon  is  said  to  have  a  very 
injurious  effect  upon  those  persons  who  use  it  habitually. 
Although  polygamy  is  permitted  and  there  is  no  limit 
to  the  number  of  concubines  allowed  by  the  law  of  the 
land,  yet  Persians  say  that  adultery  and  sodomy  are 
both  very  prevalent.     The  license  given  in  the  way  of 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  57 

marriage  does  not  prevent  the  other  vices.  In  fact,  it 
may  be  believed  that  this  license  tends  to  the  increase 
of  the  other  two  vices.  The  prevalence  of  sodomy  is 
notorious.  Although  the  nominal  penalty  of  adultery 
is  death  by  stoning,  the  severity  of  the  punishment 
does  not  prevent  the  expectation  of  escape.  The  pen- 
alty is  seldom  inflicted.  If  the  vice  is  as  rare  as  the 
execution  of  the  penalty,  the  kingdom  might  be 
thought  to  be  a  model  of  virtue.  If  sodomy  be  a 
common  vice  of  the  men,  adultery  is  said  to  be  a  special 
vice  of  the  women,  by  which  they  retaliate.  The  cos- 
tumes of  the  females  and  the  religious  and  social  cus- 
toms give  favorable  opportunities  for  amorous  intrigues. 
The  street-costume  is  so  effectual  a  concealment  of  the 
person  that  no  man  is  able  to  distinguish  his  own  wife 
from  other  women  in  a  public  place,  and  custom  forbids 
him  to  indulge  his  suspicions  by  any  officious  inquiry. 
Gambling  is  common  with  Persians.  Cards,  chess  and 
other  games  are  used  for  this  purpose,  and  the  effects  here 
are  the  same  as  those  which  are  seen  in  other  countries — 
namely,  waste  of  time  and  loss  of  money,  with  drunken- 
ness and  other  vices. 


CHAPTER   III. 

Condition  of  the  Women  of  Persia — Effect  of  Sheahism  on  the 
Popular  Estimate  of  Women — Influence  of  Fatima — Effect  shown 
by  Persian  Poetry — Popular  Estimate  of  the  Sayeds — Sanctity  of 
Female  Sayeds — A  Woman's  Power  over  her  Husband — Chiv- 
alrous Spirit  of  Persians — Example  of  the  Shah — Eeverence  of 
Persians  for  Maternity — Property  Eights  of  Woman — Conditions 
Adverse  to  Woman — Lack  of  Schools  for  Females— Child-mar- 
riage— Female  Seclusion — Woman's  Costume — Effect  and  Preva- 
lence of  Polygamy — Baneful  Effect  of  Sekah  Marriage — The  Non- 
Mohammedan  Women  of  Persia:  Jewesses,  Christian  Women — 
Contrasts — Influence  of  Islam — Degraded  Condition  of  Christian 
Women — Efforts  for  the  Redemption  of  Woman  in  Persia — 
Proportion  of  Male  and  Female  Converts — Place  Assigned  to 
Women  in  the  Churches — No  Converts  from  Mohammedan 
Women. 

rpHE  condition  of  the  native  women  of  Persia  is  a 
subject  worthy  of  consideration  by  itself.  In  the 
treatment  of  this  topic  we  have  to  notice  the  difference 
in  the  social  and  moral  status  of  Mohammedan  and 
Christian  women.  The  state  of  the  former  is  deter- 
mined, to  a  great  extent,  by  the  laws  and  customs  of 
Islam,  but  not  entirely  by  these,  for  these  general  prin- 
ciples are  modified  by  the  pecidiar  tenets  of  the  sects. 
The  Persians  are  Sheah  Mohammedans,  and  the  pecu- 
liarities of  this  sect  have  a   marked  influence  over  the 

58 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  69 

estimate  at  which  woman  is  held.  This  division  of 
Islam  owes  its  origin  to  a  woman.  The  claim  of  the 
Imams  to  the  supreme  control  of  the  Mohammedan 
world  rests  upon  the  right  of  succession  in  Fatima,  the 
daughter  of  Mohammed  and  wife  of  Ale.  This  is  not 
the  only  ground  of  the  claim,  but  it  is  a  valid  one  if 
the  right  to  rule  rests  upon  the  right  of  inheritance. 
The  Sheahs  contend  for  the  right  of  inheritance.  The 
Sunees  advocate  the  elective  right  in  the  congregation 
of  believers  at  the  first.  The  principle  has  long  since 
been  abandoned  by  them,  and  the  sultan  claims  author- 
ity on  the  ground  of  heredity.  Fatima,  having  the 
right  of  succession,  is  necessarily  a  person  greatly  revered 
by  Sheahs.  The  ruling  sect  of  the  Sheahs  is  that  called 
the  "  Twelve,''  and  is  strongest  in  Persia.  The  chief 
tenet  is  that  the  right  of  the  khalafate  belonged  to  the 
direct  descendants  of  Fatima  and  Ale  to  the  twelfth 
generation,  the  succession  ending  in  the  Mahde.  The 
place  which  Fatima  fills  in  Persian  history  and  tradition 
has  a  marked  influence  over  the  sentiments  of  Persians 
toward  woman.  The  place  given  to  her  must  raise  the 
popular  estimate  of  woman  in  general.  That  such  has 
been  the  result  is  shown  by  the  poetry  and  much  of  the 
literature  of  Persia,  as  also  by  the  religious  ceremonies 
and  the  common  life  of  the  people.  Persia  is  the  only 
country  of  the  Mohammedan  world  in  which  poetry 
has  been  to  any  great  extent  cultivated.  It  was  not 
until    the  Sheah   faitli  asserted  its  power  that  Persian 


60  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

poetry  began  to  flourish.  The  poetical  element  may  be 
naturally  more  marked  in  Persians  than  in  other  Mo- 
hammedans, but  it  seems  to  be  true  that  Sheahism  has 
cultivated  that  element.  Much  of  the  poetry  is  in  praise 
of  Fatima,  and,  unconsciously  to  Persians,  inspires  noble 
sentiments  toward  her  sex. 

Fatima  is  the  mother  of  the  sayeds.  The  female 
members  of  this  sacred  class  are  held  in  no  less  rever- 
ence than  the  male  descendants  of  the  first  Sheah.  The 
sayeds  are  the  direct  descendants  of  Fatima  and  Ale. 
They  now  compose  a  countless  multitude,  and  are  com- 
monly distinguished  from  other  Mohammedans  by  the 
green  turban.  They  are  often  found  in  large  communi- 
ties and  intermarry.  In  many  places  they  hold  lands 
under  grants  from  the  crown.  Although  the  lineage  is 
reckoned  in  the  male,  yet  it  is  thought  to  be  more  hon- 
orable when  both  parents  are  of  the  house  of  Fatima. 
To  wed  a  sayed  is  thought  to  be  a  great  honor,  and  she 
is  not  slow  to  assert  the  rights  of  her  order  and  family. 
Even  though  she  may  be  married  to  a  man  of  common 
blood  or  a  peasant,  her  relation  to  the  founder  of  the 
national  faith  commands  respect  and  makes  her  a  dis- 
tinguished person  in  her  own  circle  of  friends.  She  will 
resent  a  wrong  done  to  her  as  a  crime  committed  against 
the  whole  line  of  saints.  An  appeal  by  her  to  her  neigh- 
bors is  sure  to  bring  down  the  wrath  of  the  community 
in  which  she  lives  upon  the  oifender,  and  every  one 
has  a  superstitious  fear  of  her  person  and  character. 


Shah  of  Persia. 


Page  61. 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  63 

Woman  gains  some  advantage  in  Persia  from  the 
chivalrous  spirit  of  Persians.  It  is  thought  to  be  un- 
manly for  a  man  to  resent  the  ire  of  a  woman.  If  she 
meets  him  in  a  public  place,  she  may  take  off  a  shoe  from 
her  foot  and  slap  him  in  the  face  with  it,  but  he  dare 
not  retaliate  by  beating  her.  He  will  show  his  sense 
of  honor  by  standing  patiently  while  she  punishes  him, 
rather  than  incur  the  disgrace  of  having  lifted  a  hand 
against  her  or  having  fled  from  her.  There  is  hardly 
any  disgrace  which  a  Persian  dreads  more  than  to  be 
assailed  by  a  woman  in  a  public  place.  It  is  related 
that  the  Shah  was  once  riding  in  the  street  when  at  a 
certain  point  on  the  way  he  was  met  by  a  company  of 
women  who  implored  protection  from  the  extortion  of 
his  vazier.  This  man  had,  in  collusion  with  the  bakers, 
raised  the  price  of  wheat  and  bread.  The  Shah  escaped 
as  best  he  could  from  the  crowd,  and  turned  into  one  of 
his  gardens.  Seating  himself  on  the  porch  of  his  sum- 
mer-house, he  ordered  the  vazier  to  be  brought  to  him 
with  a  rope  about  his  neck.  AVhen  the  man  came  near 
the  Shah  said,  "  Why  have  you  put  me  to  shame  ?  Why 
have  you  raised  the  price  of  wheat  ?'' — "  For  your  sak&," 
replied  the  vazier.  "The  wheat  is  in  your  granary, 
and  the  purchase  was  made  for  your  benefit.'^ — "  Yes,'' 
replied  the  king,  "but  you  have  dishonored  me  by 
bringing  all  the  women  out  against  me. — Strai>gle  him  !" 
cried  the  Shah.  But  now  the  king's  favorite  appears 
and  intercedes,  and  the  man's  life  is  spared.     It  should 


64  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

not  be  thought  that  the  Persians  are  so  amiable  that 
they  always  act  with  this  forbearance.  In  his  own  home 
the  man  is  not  tardy  in  asserting  his  authority,  and  cus- 
tom gives  him  the  right  to  whip  his  wife  as  well  as 
his  children.  In  many  cases,  however,  it  is  danger- 
ous for  him  to  exercise  this  prerogative.  I  have  heard 
Persians  say  that  it  is  important  in  selecting  a  wife  to 
take  one  who  will  bear  the  rod  with  docility. 

Heverence  for  maternity  has  its  influence  in  protect- 
ing woman  in  Persia.  This  feeling  is  inculcated  by  the 
Koran.  The  sentiment,  very  strangely  as  It  would  seem, 
centres  in  the  grandmother.  She  is  the  most  honored 
member  of  the  family.  The  children  respect  her  more 
than  they  do  their  own  mother.  She  is  to  them  the 
model  of  motherhood.  The  practice  of  polygamy  seems 
to  give  special  occasion  for  the  exercise  of  the  maternal 
feeling  in  the  parent  and  the  filial  sentiment  in  the  son. 
The  lack  of  the  husband's  aifection  is  supplied  by  the 
love  of  the  child.  The  son  regards  his  mother  as  an 
object  of  his  protection.  She  looks  to  him  for  solace  and 
support.  She  is  his  chief  mourner  at  his  decease,  but 
shftuld  he  survive  her  his  Is  the  most  heartfelt  sorrow. 

A  Persian  woman  is  protected  by  the  law  in  the  pos- 
session and  sole  use  of  all  property  inherited  by  her. 
Her  husband  has  no  right  to  the  property.  But  this 
right  of  hers  is  not  always  protected,  although  the  law 
is  clear.  Her  title,  however,  is  usually  maintained. 
There  is  no  effort  made  in  Persia  by  Persians  for  the 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  65 

education  of  wonieu  and  girls.  Many  of  the  Moham- 
medan women  are  readers.  Whatever  learning  they  ac- 
quire is  obtained  from  private  tutors.  It  is  rarely  the 
case  that  a  woman  learns  to  do  more  than  read;  the! 
majority  of  females  cannot  do  that.  The  colleges  in  the' 
n\osqucs  are  for  male  students ;  there  is  no  provision  for 
woman's  education.  The  custom  of  child-marriage  is 
against  her.  The  Mohammedan  girl  is  of  age  at  nine. 
She  usually  marries  before  her  thirteenth  year,  and  goes 
to  the  control  of  her  mother-in-law,  and  has  the  charge 
of  a  family  and  the  work  of  a  household.  If  she  is  of 
the  peasant  class  and  poor,  she  will  labor  in  the  field  be- 
sides attending  to  her  domestic  duties.  Yet  women  do 
not  commonly  perform  the  work  of  men  in  the  field. 

The  custom — or  rather  theory — of  Persians  requires 
woman's  seclusion.  Her  costume  is  a  sign  of  this  se- 
clusion, and  the  greater  and  more  inconvenient  part  of  it. 
With  peasants  and  the  poor  there  is  practically  no  harem, 
and  little  or  no  appearance  of  retirement  except  the  wear- 
ing of  the  chadur,  the  loose  cotton  cloth  or  mantle  which 
is  thrown  over  the  head,  and  which  may  be  instantly 
wrapped  about  the  person  if  it  be  desired  to  conceal  tlie 
face  from  a  stranger.  On  all  ordinary  occasions  the 
chadur  is  laid  aside  while  the  woman  is  at  work.  It  is 
only  the  very  rich  who  can  carry  out  into  every-day  life 
the  Eastern  theory  of  the  harem. 

The  system  of  polygamy  is  the  great  cause  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan woman's  degradation  and  misery.     It  is  true 


66  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

that  (he  practice  is  impracticable  to  a  great  raauy.  Many- 
Persians  have  but  one  wife.  But  the  influence  of  the 
law  and  the  public  sentiment  created  by  the  system  have 
all  the  effect  upon  her  condition  of  the  universal  practice 
of  the  custom.  The  system  takes  from  her  all  confidence 
in  the  permanency  of  the  affection  of  her  husband.  It 
prevents  all  expectation  of  permanence  in  the  marriage 
relation,  because  she  agrees  in  the  marriage  contract  to  a 
divorce  at  the  will  of  her  husband.  It  fosters  feelings 
of  jealousy  and  occasions  intrigue  in  the  household.  It 
should  not  be  thought  that  poverty  is  any  barrier  to  the 
practice  of  polygamy  ;  the  rich  men  do  not  commonly 
have  the  largest  number  of  wives.  The  men  who  are 
least  able  to  bear  the  expense  are  often  found  to  have 
several  wives. 

Of  all  the  social  and  religious  customs,  no  one  is  more 
baneful  in  its  influence  over  women  than  the  custom  of 
Sekah  marriage.  This  is  a  system  of  concubinage  under 
which  there  is  no  limit  to  the  number  of  wives,  and  no 
requirement  respecting  the  continuance  of  the  relation 
except  the  agreement  made  by  the  contracting  parties. 
It  is  legalized  prostitution  sanctified  by  a  brief  religious 
rite.  However  bad  the  physical  effects  of  this  system 
may  be,  these  are  not  the  greatest  of  the  evils  resulting 
from  it.  The  effect  on  the  woman's  sense  of  honor  and 
self-respect  and  on  the  morals  of  the  people  is  yet  more 
fatal.  When  marriage  is  treated  by  the  law  and  religion 
as  so  light  and  trifling  a  matter,  the  people  very  natu- 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  67 

rally  come  to  think  that  it  is  of  no  great  sanctity,  but  a 
matter  of  convenience  only. 

These  statements  relate  to  the  Mohammedan  women 
especially,  and  not  to  all  the  non-Mohammedans.  There 
is  no  very  marked  difference  between  the  state  of  the 
Jewish  and  Mohammedan  women.  There  is  some  pride 
of  race  and  of  religion  which  protects,  in  some  degree, 
the  Jewess ;  but  the  customs  and  laws  of  Islam  are 
drawn  very  largely  from  the  Old  Testament.  In  the 
marriage  contract  the  right  of  divorce  by  the  husband  is 
acknowledged  by  the  woman  and  is  at  the  man's  option. 
Sekah  marriages  are  frequent  among  Jews,  but  not  so 
common  as  with  Mohammedans.  Polygamy  is  lawful 
and  is  practiced  among  the  Jews.  Jewesses  are  excluded 
from  the  synagogues  and  from  the  schools.  They  are  as- 
signed to  the  gallery  without,  and  obtain  their  view  of 
what  is  passing  in  the  synagogue  through  small  holes  left 
in  the  walls.  By  this  arrangement  there  is  a  painful  and 
sham  attempt  to  perpetuate  the  distinctions  made  in  the 
appointments  of  the  tabernacle  and  temple  by  the  sepa- 
rate courts  for  the  men  and  for  the  women.  No  arrange- 
ment of  a  Persian  synagogue  is  more  effective  to  show 
woman's  degradation  and  the  vile,  heartless  character  of 
the  men  than  this  outer  gallery  arranged  for  the  females. 

Of  all  the  women  of  Persia,  the  Christian  women, 
even  in  the  uureformed  state  of  the  Oriental  churches, 
occupy  the  most  honored  place  and  have  the  happiest  lot. 
But  their  condition  is  degraded  by  the  influence  of  Mo- 


68  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

hammedan  laws  and  customs.  That  influence  requires 
conformity  to  Mohammedan  notions  of  dress  and  seclu- 
sion— not  in  all  particulars,  but  in  many  respects.  It 
also  inculcates  in  men  ideas  of  women  which  are  con- 
trary to  Christian  precept  and  influence.  Armenian 
women  wear  the  street-costume  of  Mohammedan  females 
whenever  they  go  upon  the  street.  At  home  a  handker- 
chief is  worn  over  the  mouth,  tied  about  the  lower  part 
of  the  face  and  around  the  neck.  Whatever  other  pur- 
pose it  may  serve,  this  indicates  silence  and  submission, 
and  is  often  thought  to  be  a  very  important  and  useful 
custom,  as  any  one  would  judge  it  to  be  who  has  heard 
the  epithets  and  the  torrent  of  words  which  a  Persian 
woman  can  use  when  once  she  opens  her  mouth.  An 
Armenian  woman  once  poured  out  a  flood  of  impudent 
words  upon  a  man  who  had  reproved  her,  when  the  man 
answered  by  a  slap  on  her  mouth.  The  woman  com- 
plained to  the  priest,  but  he  replied  that  had  she  kept 
the  handerchief  over  her  mouth  she  would  not  have  suf- 
fered the  indignity. 

Notwithstanding  the  Mohammedan  environments,  the 
Armenian  women  have  an  evident  superiority  in  per- 
sonal comeliness,  truth,  chastity  and  all  moral  qualities, 
while  in  domestic  happiness,  security  in  the  love  of  hus- 
band and  family,  permanency  of  the  marriage  relation, 
safety  of  life,  possessions  and  honor,  the  comparison  is 
all  to  their  advantage.  Whatever  is  hard  in  their  lot 
is  due  mainly  to  the  corruption  of   their  own  Christian 


Aruicuiau  Women. 


Pa-u  GO. 


PERSIA  :   EASTERN  MISSION.  71 

doctrine  and  practice  and  the  power  of  a  Mohammedan 
government.  They  are  lacking,  however,  in  intelligence, 
knowledge  and  purity  and  in  the  whole  current  of  life. 
It  is  rarely  the  ca^se  that  any  Armenian  women  of  the 
rural  districts  can  read  or  write.  In  one  suburban  Ar- 
menian village,  in  a  population  of  some  two  hundred 
souls,  not  one  woman  could  read  the  Armenian  Script- 
ures. Armenians  of  the  cities  offer  a  more  favorable 
estimate. 

The  question  arises  in  this  connection,  "  What  has 
been  or  can  be  done  to  improve  the  condition  of  the 
women  of  Persia?"  Nothing  has  been  done  except  the 
expedients  ado2:)ted  by  missionaries.  There  has  been  no 
marked  change  in  Mohammedan  laws  and  social  cus- 
toms. The  missionaries  have  done  something  in  the 
way  of  mission-schools.  Not  more  than  two  hundred, 
however,  of  all  the  million  females  receive  the  direct  ben- 
efit of  this  education.  The  influence  exerted  in  behalf 
of  woman  by  female  missionaries  should  not  be  despised. 
In  time  it  will  affect  large  numbers  of  the  people,  but  it 
cannot  be  expected  to  do  all  that  should  be  done  for  a 
radical  change  of  woman's  status  in  Persia.  The  growth 
of  ProtCvStant  Christianity  will  be  in  her  favor,  but  Prot- 
estantism must  suffer  the  power  of  Oriental  social  laws 
so  long  a  time  as  Mohammedanism  remains,  \yoman 
never  can  attain  to  much  excellence  under  these  laws. 
Her  future  is  determined  by  the  same  conditions  which 
fix  the  fate  of  all  the  people  of  Eastern  lands.     Much 


72  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

may  be  done  by  individual  conversions,  the  education  of 
some  and  the  improvement  of  a  few  communities  j  by 
this  means  an  efficient  contribution  may  be  made  to  the 
general  and  public  good.  But  a  radical  and  general  im- 
provement of  the  people  can  come  only  with  the  com- 
plete overthrow  of  the  Mohammedan  political  power. 
There  is  a  marked  contrast  in  the  proportion  of  male 
to  female  converts  in  Eastern  Persia  and  in  America  and 
other  Christian  lands.  In  the  latter  there  is  a  decided  ex- 
cess of  females.  In  Persia  the  opposite  is  true.  The  num- 
ber of  accessions  to  the  churches  from  the  male  popula- 
tion exceeds  the  number  of  additions  from  the  female. 
There  are  two  marked  reasons  for  this  difference.  The 
men.  are  by  custom  the  leaders  in  all  public  assemblies 
and  changes.  Mohammedan  women  attend  the  mosques, 
Armenian  women  attend  the  churches,  but  not  in  such 
numbers  as  do  the  men.  When  they  go  to  these  places 
of  public  resort  they  must  be  closely  veiled  and  must  oc- 
cupy a  retired  part  of  the  auditorium.  Another  reason 
for  the  difference  is  the  stronger  prejudice  and  supersti- 
tion of  the  women.  They  hold  to  the  old  religion  more 
firmly  than  their  fathers  and  brothers  do.  Reason  and 
argument  have  less  weight  with  them  to  convince ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  their  opposition  is  less  decided  and 
active.  The  place  assigned  to  the  native  woman  in  the 
old  churches  is  either  a  gallery  or  the  rear  of  the  audi- 
torium, where  a  railing  or  picket  separates  her  from  the 
place  given  to  the  man.     In  the  mosques  the  women  oc- 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  73 

cupy  one  side  of  the  room,  as  in  some  parts  of  Europe 
and  America  the  division  is  made  between  the  sexes. 
In  mosques  all  the  congregation  sit  or  stand  facing  the 
Kabah,  or  place  of  prayer.  In  the  tazeahs,  or  religious 
theatres,  the  men  and  women  occupy  separate  sides  of 
the  room,  sitting  face  to  face,  the  women  being  veiled. 
I  am  not  aware  that  any  Mohammedan  woman  of  Per- 
sia has  become  a  Christian,  although  several  Mussulmans 
have  made  a  profession  of  their  faith,  and  many  have 
shown  their  dissatisfaction  with  Islam. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Particular  Account  of  the  Opening  of  the  Mission  in  Eastern  Persia 
— Appointment  of  Mr.  Bassett  to  Tehran — Tour  of  Exploration — 
Departure  of  Mr.  Bassett  and  Family  from  Oroomiah  for  Tehran 
— Snowstorm — Incident  in  a  Balakhanah  of  Kilishkin — Last 
Stage  of  the  Journey — Mrs.  Bassett. 

TTAVING  introduced  my  readers  to  the  country  and 
people  of  Eastern  Persia,  so  that  they  will  under- 
stand some  of  the  principal  environments  of  the  mission- 
aries and  mission-work  in  that  country,  I  will  now  give 
a  more  particular  account  of  the  mission  in  the  part  of 
the  country  I  have  described. 

The  occupation  of  Eastern  Persia  by  resident  Ameri- 
can missionaries  began  with  the  settlement  in  Tehran  of 
Rev.  James  Bassett  in  the  fall  of  1872.  We  speak  of 
this  settlement  as  the  occupation  of  Eastern  Persia, 
because  the  charge  of  work  in  Hamadan  and  also  the 
supervision  of  native  itinerant  work  in  Khorasan  was 
specially  given  to  Mr.  Bassett.  At  this  time  there  was 
no  mission  of  any  Protestant  society  in  the  capital,  nor 
had  any  been  established  in  that  city  at  any  previous 
time.  Excepting  the  independent  work  carried  on  in 
Ispahan  by  the  British  missionary  Rev.  Robert  Bruce^ 
the  American  mission  in  Oroomiah  was  the  only  Protest- 

74 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  75 

ant  mission  in  the  kingdom  of  Persia  at  that  date.  The 
mission  in  Oroomiah  was  founded  in  1834  expressly  for 
labors  among  the  Nestorian  Christians  of  Western  Persia. 
But  in  1871  this  mission  was  transferred  from  the 
American  Board  in  Boston,  now  the  Missionary  Board 
of  the  Congregational  churches  of  the  United  States,  to 
the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  having  its 
office  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  plans  were  formed 
for  the  enlargement  of  the  work  of  the  mission  so  as  to 
embrace  the  chief  cities  of  Persia ;  and  the  mission  was 
henceforth  known  by  the  name  of  the  "  Mission  to  Per- 
sia." In  pursuance  of  these  plans  Mr.  Bassett  was  ap- 
pointed, while  the  mission  was  yet  practically  confined 
to  Oroomiah,  to  occupy  Tehran  or  Hamadan  as  he  might 
think  most  expedient  on  visiting  these  two  cities.  The 
extended  tours  made  by  this  missionary  in  the  spring 
and  summer  of  1872  were  preparatory  to  the  occupation 
of  one  of  these  cities  by  him.  He  traveled  from  Oroo- 
miah to  Tehran  vid  Tabriz.  From  the  capital  he  jour- 
neyed to  Hamadan  and  Seuah,  returning  to  Oroomiah  on 
the  18th  of  July.  He  remained  in  that  city  until  the 
2d  of  November,  expecting  during  the  last  ten  days  of 
this  time  to  be  joined  by  a  missionary  from  the  United 
States,  who  would  go  on  with  him  to  Tehran,  where  it 
seemed  most  expedient  to  begin  work  at  that  time.  The 
lady  missionary  appointed  in  America  to  go  to  the  capi- 
tal is  said  to  have  been  unable,  owing  to  ill  health,  to 
proceed  farther  than  to  Constantinople,  from  which  place 


76  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

she  returned  to  the  United  States.  The  gentleman  re- 
ferred to  preferred  to  remain  in  Oroomiah.  Mr.  Bassett, 
therefore,  with  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife  and 
three  children,  left  Oroomiah,  as  stated,  for  Tehran,  go- 
ing by  way  of  Tabriz.  The  party  reached  the  capital 
on  the  29th  of  November.  They  were  favored  with, 
fair  weather  and  dry  roads  until  they  came  into  the 
vicinity  of  Casveen.  Hastening  on  because  of  the  late- 
ness of  the  season  and  to  save  the  extra  distance  of  the 
circuitous  route  of  the  plain,  they  crossed  the  spur  of  the 
Elburz  between  Horumdarah  and  Kilishkin,  and  on 
the  summit  of  the  pass  encountered  the  first  snowstorm 
of  the  season.  They  suffered  no  special  inconvenience 
from  the  cold,  for  they  had  taken  all  needed  precautions 
against  it,  and  the  distance  over  the  pass  was  but  one 
day^s  journey.  Mrs.  Bassett  rode  with  one  of  the  chil- 
dren in  a  taktravan  ;  the  other  two  children  had  their 
large  covered  and  padded  baskets  in  which  they  rode, 
the  two  baskets  being  swung,  pannier  style,  over  the 
back  of  a  horse.  The  taktravan  was  well  lined  with 
felt  to  exclude  the  cold. 

At  Kilishkin  the  party  occupied  a  balakhanah,  or 
chamber  of  the  inn,  the  lower  rooms  being  unfit  to  use. 
The  chamber  was  constructed,  Persian  fashion,  with  five 
doors  on  one  side  of  the  room  and  opening  over  the 
court,  and  intended  to  be  open  in  the  summer.  But  it 
was  now  cold  and  stormy  weather,  and  they  were  closed, 
though  some  of  the  fastenings  were  loose.     While  the 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  77 

other  members  of  the  party  were  busy  here  and  there, 
the  baby  crept  to  one  of  the  doors,  and,  raising  herself  to 
her  feet  by  the  aid  of  the  door-frame,  she  put  her  hands 
and  weight  on  the  door,  when  it  instantly  flew  open  and 
the  child  fell  out  and  over  the  doorsill ;  but  l\er  father 
happened  to  be  near,  and  saw  her  just  in  time  to  put  his 
foot  upon  the  few  inches  of  the  long  skirt  yet  passing 
over  the  sill :  this  prevented  the  fall.  The  child  was 
suspended  between  the  door  and  the  stone  pavement 
below  by  the  end  of  her  long  skirt,  and  so  saved  from  a 
fall  from  the  chamber  upon  the  stones. 

The  highlands,  where  cold  weather  might  be  expected, 
having  been  passed,  the  party  came  upon  the  lower  coun- 
try of  the  plains  of  Casveen  and  Tehran,  and  traveled 
more  leisurely  and  without  sickness  or  harm.  The  last 
stage  of  the  journey  was  made  from  near  Meanjub  and 
along  the  upper  road  to  the  village  of  Kend.  From  this 
road  they  had  in  the  entire  distance  a  view  of  the  plain 
of  Tehran  on  their  right,  and  from  near  Kend  for  the 
first  time  they  saw  the  capital.  With  what  interest  did 
they  look  upon  this  city  now  spread  out  before  them,  not 
only  because  of  its  relation  to  themselves  as  their  pros- 
pective home  and  the  end  of  a  long  and  tedious  journey, 
but  also  because  of  its  relation  to  the  future  of  mission- 
work  in  Persia  ! 

They  entered  the  city  by  the  gate  called  "  Asp  Davon," 
or  horse-race — so  named  from  the  fact  that  the  road  lead- 
ing to  the  race-course  passes  through  it — and  proceeded 


78  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION, 

to  the  house  prepared  for  their  reception  in  the  north- 
ern quarter  of  the  city,  known  as  Shimrou  gate.  It  is  a 
fact  of  interest  that  Mrs.  Bassett  was  the  first  American 
lady  to  enter  the  capital  of  Persia.  If  we  take  into  the 
account  her  journey  of  the  previous  year  from  Trebi- 
zond,  she  had  within  the  last  fourteen  months  traveled 
in  a  taktravan  and  by  caravan,  and  with  an  infant  in 
arms,  not  less  than  a  thousand  miles.  Yet  she  wrote  at 
the  time  that  she  had  never  been  in  better  health  nor 
more  happy  than  when  thus  journeying  in  the  heart 
of  Asia. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Tehran,  Situation  of — Temperature  and  Climate — Antiquity  of  Teh- 
ran— Changes  in — Later  Improvements — Population :  Armenians, 
Jews,  Guebers,  Mohammedans — Mullahs  and  Shah — Foreign  Le- 
gations—State of  Society — Mission- Work  previous  to  1872 — Pros- 
pective Work  of  the  Missionary — Native  Assistants — Keligious 
Toleration — School  Opened — Armenian  Elders — Baron  Matteos — 
Proposed  Union  of  Schools — Departure  of  the  Shah  for  Europe — 
Prime  Minister — Shah's  Wife — Conspiracy — Erection  of  a  Chapel 
— Congregation  at  the  Chapel — Opposition  of  the  Archbishop  and 
Elders — Action  of  the  Authorities — Schemes  Defeated — Arme- 
nians of  Feruzbahrom  and  Zard  Aub — Summer  Retreat — Vanak 
— Violence  of  the  Priests — Intemperance  of  the  Villagers — Priest 
Megerditch — Heat  of  the  Country — Sickness — Increase  in  Schools 
— Annual  Meeting  in  Oroomiah — Return  to  Tehran — Rains  and 
Floods — Persian  Houses — The  Work  in  Hamadan — Mechail  and 
Reforms — Priest  Oracale — Persecution — Transfer  of  Native 
Preachers. 

AS  we  now  enter  a  new  field  of  missions  destined  to 

play  an  important  part  in  the  evangelization  of  the 

land,  some  account  of  the  city  which  is  the  chief  centre 

of  the  field  seems  to  be  pertinent  to  the  subject  and  may 

be  of  interest  to  the  reader. 

Tehran,  the  present  capital  of  Persia,  is  situated  on 
the  northern  side  of  a  broad  plain  which  runs  nearly 
due  east  and  west  at  the  base  of  the  Elburz  Mountains, 
and  opens  into  the  north-western  corner  of  the  desert  of 

79 


80  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

Khorasan.  From  the  city  there  is  an  unbroken  view  to 
the  south-east  far  into  the  desert.  Bat  between  the  cap- 
ital and  the  barren  regions  of  the  desert  proper  there 
intervene  the  fertile  plains  of  Ra  and  Varomene, 
stretching,  together,  a  distance  of  some  forty  miles. 
The  city  stands  within  a  semicircle  of  the  Elburz  and 
on  the  lower  slope  and  southern  face  of  Mount  Shimron, 
one  of  the  highest  peaks  of  this  notable  range.  To  the 
north-east,  some  forty  miles,  the  summit  of  the  cone  of 
Damavand  rises  to  the  height  of  twenty  thousand  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  top  of  Shimron  gains 
an  altitude  of  nearly  thirteen  thousand"^  feet  above  the 
sea  and  nine  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above 
the  plain  of  Tehran.  The  environments,  in  the  way  of 
mountain  and  plain,  are  on  a  broad  and  grand  scale,  but 
they  carry  with  them  no  cheerful  and  refreshing  pros- 
pect, and  can  please,  if  at  all,  only  by  the  feeling  of 
grandeur  which  they  inspire. 

This  plain,  although  it  is  nearly  two  hundred  miles  in 
length,  has  no  considerable  stream  of  water  in  it.  The 
Karaj,  a  small  river,  rises  northward  of  Tehran,  and, 
breaking  through  a  rocky  barrier  in  a  narrow  gorge,  en- 
ters the  plain  some  twenty-five  miles  westward  of  the 
capital.  It  flows  southward  across  the  plain  and  along 
the  southern  side  of  it,  and  at  no  point  in  its  course  is 
nearer  the  city  than  fifteen  miles.  The  city,  therefore, 
has  no  source  for  the  supply  of  water  except  the  con- 
^12,750  feet. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  83 

naughts  which  have  been  excavated  along  the  lower 
slope  of  Shimron.  Near  the  foot  of  that  mountain 
there  is  the  appearance  of  some  fertility,  and  the  plain 
is  dotted  with  villages,  but  in  the  greater  part  of  it 
naught  is  seen  but  a  treeless  and  arid  waste,  on  which 
a  glaring  sunlight  shines  from  a  cloudless  sky,  and  over 
which  hot  winds  from  the  desert  blow  during  half  the 
year.  The  Elburz  serve  as  a  barrier  to  the  winds  from 
the  Caspian  Sea  and  the  north.  Clouds  gather  about 
the  lofty  cone  of  Damavand,  but  vanish  as  soon  as  they 
approach  the  heated  borders  of  the  plain.  In  the  win- 
ter the  mountains  and  plain  are  covered  with  snow  and 
swept  by  strong  winds.  The  former  become  impassable. 
The  plain  is  not  long  covered  with  snow,  great  as  the 
altitude  is.  The  greatest  degree  of  cold  on  the  plain  of 
Tehran  is  rarely  below  10°  Fahrenheit.  The  climate  is 
distinguished  for  equability.  The  changes  of  the  sea- 
sons come  on  very  gradually.  The  healthfulness  of  this 
region  varies  greatly  in  short  distances,  owing  no  doubt 
to  differences  in  the  irrigation  and  drainage  of  the  lands. 
In  former  years  Tehran  was  afflicted  with  malarial  and 
typhoid  fevers,  but  of  late  there  has  been  great  improve- 
ment in  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  city,  and  it  will  now 
compare  favorably  with  the  most  healthful  places  in  the 
kingdom.  It  is  the  custom,  however,  of  the  European 
residents  and  of  many  of  the  natives  to  resort  to  the 
mountains  in  the  hot  season.  Some  four  miles  north- 
ward of  the  capital  there  is  an  extensive  cluster  of  vil- 


84  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

lages  known  as  Shimrouaut.  These  villages  are  the 
principal  summer  resorts.  The  whole  district  is  dotted 
with  the  white  tents  of  the  army  and  of  refugees  from 
the  heat  and  the  mosquitoes  and  gnats  of  the  plain. 

The  importance  of  Tehran  dates  from  the  occupancy 
of  the  place,  then  a  small  village,  by  Agah  Mohammad, 
the  first  of  the  Kajar  tribe  to  obtain  control  of  the  king- 
dom and  the  founder  of  the  Kajar  dynasty.  He  was 
crowned  king  of  Persia  in  1796,  but  he  made  Tehran 
a  rendezvous  for  his  forces  as  early  as  1776.  After  the 
erection  of  palaces  and  government  buildings  there  was 
a  gradual  growth  of  the  city  until  the  year  1867,  when 
the  place  is  supposed  to  have  had  about  sixty  thousand 
inhabitants.  At  this  date  improvements  were  begun, 
and  were  carried  on  in  the  following  years.  The  old 
walls  were  torn  down,  the  area  enlarged  and  a  new  moat 
dug.  The  newly-added  area  was  laid  out  in  wide  streets 
after  the  plan  of  European  towns.  The  improvements 
of  a  few  years  have  made  a  very  great  change  in  the 
aspect  of  the  city,  rendering  it  more  tolerable  as  a  place 
of  residence.  It  is  now  much  more  populous  than  when 
these  changes  began  to  be  made.  The  tendency  of  the 
population  in  Oriental  countries  is  to  the  capital.  It  is 
significant  that  the  growth  of  Tehran  has  been  greater 
in  the  last  fifteen  years  than  in  the  whole  period  of  its 
previous  existence,  an  interval  of  ninety-seven  years. 
The  growth  is  owing  chiefly  to  the  improved  policy  of 
the  government.     The  reign  of  Nasir  id  Deen  Shah  has 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  85 

becD  one  of  peace.  He  has  encouraged  intercourse  with 
foreign  governments ;  he  has  made  special  effort  to  im- 
prove the  capital.  The  increasing  attractiveness  of  the 
capital  has  been  felt  by  the  people  of  other  cities,  to  the 
loss  of  the  latter.  Comparatively  little  improvement 
has  been  made  in  other  towns,  but  Tehran  has  grown 
with  a  rapidity  equal  to  that  of  the  most  prosperous  cit- 
ies of  other  countries.  The  growth  compares  favorably 
with  that  of  some  of  the  flush  towns  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  barely  a  decade  older  than  the  city  of  Cin- 
cinnati, and  has  nearly  as  large  a  population.  This,  con- 
sidering the  entire  period  of  its  growth,  is  certainly  re- 
markable, especially  for  an  Oriental  city.  The  actual 
rapidity  of  progress  is  much  greater  than  this  statement 
indicates,  for  the  larger  part  of  the  increase  has  been  in 
the  last  fifteen  years. 

The  population  of  Tehran  is  representative  of  all  the 
races  in  Persia.  The  Persian  and  Turkish  stocks  pre- 
dominate. The  Persian  language  is  the  language  of  law 
and  literature.  On  the  opening  of  the  mission  the  num- 
ber of  Armenians  in  Tehran  was  about  one  hundred  and 
ten  families.  Seventy  households  were  located  in  five 
suburban  villages.  The  Jews  claimed  three  hundred 
houses.  The  Guebers  were  not  more  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  souls.  The  number  of  Europeans  was  estimated 
to  be  one  hundred,  of  whom  one-half  were  English- 
speaking  people.  The  balance  of  the  population  was 
Mohammedan.      The  Armenians  were   settled    in   two 


86  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

quarters  of  the  city — one  on  the  south-eastern  side  of 
the  town,  near  the  old  gate  called  Shah  Abd  al  Azeem  ; 
the  other  on  the  western  side,  near  the  Casveen  gate. 
The  former  community  was  the  earlier  settlement  and 
numbered  forty  households.  The  latter  had  seventy 
households,  and  was  made  up  by  removals  from  the  first 
colony.  In  each  section  there  was  an  Armenian  church 
and  an  officiating  priest.  The  churches  were  dark  and 
dismal  places,  built  in  the  old  style.  They  were  con- 
structed of  sun-dried  bricks.  A  railing  or  picket  fence 
in  the  rear  of  the  audience-room  separated  the  women's 
apartment  in  the  church  from  that  of  the  men  and  from 
the  altar.  The  priests  read  the  service  in  the  ancient 
Armenian  language,  a  speech  unknown  to  the  worshipers. 
A  school  had  recently  been  opened  in  the  western  settle- 
ment, and  a  teacher  had  been  imported  from  Constanti- 
nople. He  was  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  but  did  not  profess  to  be  in  the  employ  of  the 
Romanists.  There  was  no  free  tuition,  and  the  children 
of  the  poor  were  excluded. 

The  Armenians,  with  few  exceptions,  are  poor  and 
ignorant;  especially  so  are  the  inhabitants  of  the  vil- 
lages. Among  the  Armenians  of  the  city  were  several 
Russian  subjects,  much  superior  to  their  Persian  co-relig- 
ionists in  intelligence  and  wealth.  These  men  were 
leaders  in  the  Armenian  community,  and  some  of  the 
Persian  ArmeL.ians  were  of  high  rank  and  in  the  employ 
of  the  Persian  government.     By  virtue  of  their  descent 


Jews  of  Tehran. 


Page  87. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  89 

from  Georgian  princes  they  received  pensions  from  the 
Shah. 

The  Jews  of  the  capital  trace  the  origin  of  their 
colony  to  the  settlement  of  Hebrews  in  the  village  of 
Damavand,  Avhich  is  near  the  mountain  of  that  name. 
The  place  is  about  thirty  miles  eastward  of  Tehran. 
There  was  a  colony  settled  here  a  long  time  before  the 
founding  of  the  Kajar  capital.  Some  thirty  families  and 
the  graves  of  their  ancestors  are  the  only  memorials  of 
the  early  colony.  The  Jews  in  Tehran  are  located  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  city.  The  place  is  distinguished 
for  poverty  and  filth.  The  people  appear  to  have 
been  more  prosperous  in  former  times  than  now.  They 
gathered  here  from  many  places  in  the  kingdom.  Only 
those  who  had  some  property  could  live  in  the  capital, 
but  here  the  steady  weight  of  Moslem  rule  has  tended  to 
their  impoverishment  and  ruin.  They  possess  ten  syna- 
gogues, but  every  one  of  these,  with  a  single  exception, 
is  no  more  than  a  small  room  in  a  dwelling-house.  Jew- 
esses are  not  permitted  to  enter  these  rooms,  but  are  con- 
signed to  an  outer  gallery  or  vestibule,  where  they  must 
see  and  hear  through  little  holes  left  in  the  brick  walls. 
In  three  of  the  synagogues  schools  were  taught,  but  the 
course  of  instruction  consisted  of  teaching  the  pupils  to 
read  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  and  traditions  and  to  write 
the  rabbinical  character.  The  most  influential  men  of  the 
colony  were  physicians.  Some  of  the  Jews  have  been  hon- 
ored by  the  Shah  and  have  good  place?,  but  the  greater 


90  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

portion  of  them  follow  disreputable  pursuits.  They,  as  the 
Armenians  and  Guebers  also,  are  manufacturers  of  wine 
and  alcohol.  They  are  fortune-tellers  and  exorcists,  and 
they  furnish  secret  retreats  where  Mohammedans  can 
drink  with  impunity.  The  rabbi  must  slay  every  animal 
which  is  eaten,  and  the  blood  must  be  shed  while  he  re- 
peats a  formula.  The  Feast  of  Tabernacles  is  celebrated 
in  booths  erected  in  the  courts  of  the  houses,  for  the  peo- 
ple fear  to  make  these  on  the  house-tops,  lest  they  should 
be  seen  by  their  Mohammedan  neighbors  and  they  should 
suffer  violence.  On  Saturdays  and  other  sacred  seasons 
the  long  veil  is  worn  during  the  service  of  the  syna- 
gogue. 

The  Guebers  of  Tehran  are,  for  the  most  part,  mer- 
chants from  Yezd.  They  deal  in  cotton,  silk  and  woolen 
goods  manufactured  in  Yezd  and  Kerman.  Their  re- 
ligious rites  are  practiced  in  secret,  if  at  all.  They  have 
erected  a  "tower  of  silence''  for  the  exposure  of  the 
dead  on  the  side  of  a  desolate  mountain  about  six  miles 
south-eastward  of  Tehran  and  overlooking  part  of  the 
ruins  and  plain  of  Ra.  The  top  of  the  tower  is  ar- 
ranged with  niches  for  the  reception  of  the  dead  bodies. 
It  is  intended  that  the  vultures  shall  consume  the  flesh, 
but  these  birds  seem  to  be  easily  satiated :  that  which 
they  leave  is  burned  and  the  ashes  and  the  unburned 
remains  are  thrown  into  a  pit  in  the  centre  of  the 
structure. 

The  most  noteworthv  institution  of  the  Guebers  at 


Burial-Tower  and  Plains  of  Ra  and  Tehran. 


Page  91. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  93 

this  time  was  a  seminary  for  the  education  of  the  youths 
of  both  sexes.  The  school  was  under  the  management 
of  an  agent  of  the  Parsees  from  Bombay.  He  resided 
in  Tehran  for  the  purj^ose  of  protecting  the  interests  of 
his  people  in  Persia.  He  brought  funds  from  India,  but 
these  were  so  unfortunately  invested  as  to  occasion  much 
loss  and  in  great  part  to  compel  the  abandonment  of 
the  educational  scheme.  The  leaders  of  this  movement 
represented  the  advanced  class  of  the  Parsees  of  India. 
Their  school  was  ordered  after  the  English  schools,  so 
far  as  ability  permitted  it  to  be.  The  studies  were  those 
of  the  English  course.  The  religious  doctrines  and  cere- 
monies of  the  Guebers  were  not  conspicuous  features  of 
the  instruction  and  discipline.  The  mission  was  of  great 
service  to  the  Guebers  in  many  ways.  By  intercession 
with  the  Persian  authorities  the  taxes  were  reduced  or 
remitted  wholly,  and  the  Guebers  enjoyed  more  liberty 
and  security  than  before  the  establishment  of  the  mis- 
sion of  the  Parsees.  There  was  some  prospect  of  en- 
lightenment for  these  people,  if  not  of  religious  reforma- 
tion, and  the  lack  of  the  largest  success  in  the  movement 
seems  to  be  an  occasion  of  regret  to  all  the  friends  of 
progress. 

With  reference  to  the  Mohammedan  population  of 
Tehran  very  little  need  be  added  to  that  which  has  been 
previously  written.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
Persian  Mohammedans  are  of  the  sect  called  the 
"  Twelve  f^  but  the  fact  that  they  are  considered  by  the 


94  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

Turks  or  Sunees  to  be  heretics  does  not  appear  to  aifect 
their  feelings  toward  other  religions.  It  has  been  as- 
sumed that  they  are  more  tolerant  than  Sunees  because 
they  have  themselves  been  called  heretics  and  have  been 
persecuted.  It  is  possible  that  there  may  be  some  diifer- 
ence  in  the  feelings  of  these  two  great  Mohammedan  sects 
toward  Christians.  The  difference,  we  think,  is  hardly 
perceptible,  and  if  there  really  be  any  it  is  to  be  attrib- 
uted more  to  natural  temper  than  to  religious  faith,  and 
is  due  rather  to  political  relations  than  to  either  of  the 
other  motives.  The  mullahs  of  the  capital  exert  some 
influence  over  their  order  in  the  rural  districts.  It  is 
not,  however,  the  priesthood,  but  the  secular  govern- 
ment, which  determines  the  measure  of  religious  tole- 
ration. The  religious  orders  may  intimidate  the  people 
and  greatly  influence  the  Shah  and  his  court.  The  Shah 
is  a  sincere  and,  possibly,  a  superstitious  Mohammedan, 
but  either  his  policy  or  his  natural  disposition  has  led 
him  to  exercise  a  measure  of  liberality  which  could 
hardly  be  looked  for  in  one  of  his  creed. 

In  1872  the  foreign  governments  represented  at  the 
court  of  the  Shah  were — England,  Russia,  France  and 
Turkey.  In  the  course  of  the  next  thirteen  years  there 
were  also  the  legations  of  Austria,  the  United  States  of 
America  and  Germany.  The  American  missionaries 
were  under  the  protection  of  the  British  legation ;  that 
is,  so  far  as  the  mission  had  any  representations  to  make 
to  the  Persian  authorities,  such  were  made  by  the  British 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  97 

legation.  These  representatives  were  provided  with  com- 
modious buildings  in  the  city  and  on  Shiniron.  This  year 
the  British  minister  occupied,  for  the  first  time,  the  new 
premises  in  the  northern  part  of  the  city.  The  build- 
ings had  recently  been  constructed.  The  old  legation 
was  in  the  southern  quarter,  and  had  been  sold  to  a  Per- 
sian. The  gentlemen  connected  with  the  legations  and 
the  chiefs  of  the  telegraph  corps  were  men  of  cultivated 
minds  and  manners.  But  it  is  to  be  said  of  many  of  the 
foreigners  that  their  morals  w^re  not  as  good  as  their 
manners,  and  were  not  such  as  their  social  and  official 
standing  might  lead  one  to  expect.  By  contact  with 
foreigners  many  of  the  natives  were  demoralized.  Ar- 
menians especially  felt  the  influence  of  the  association, 
and  female  chastity  was  put  at  a  low  estimate  by  native 
women  and  foreign  residents,  while  as  yet  the  presence 
and  influence  of  English  and  American  women  were  un- 
known. The  utter  lack  of  a  moral  sense  in  the  natives 
when  their  virtue  is  tried  by  the  prospect  of  gain  is  con- 
spicuous and  deplorable.  In  the  case  of  Mohammedans 
this  lack  is  supplied  by  a  severe  law  with  a  terrible 
penalty  which  guards  the  sanctity  of  the  Mohammedan 
home,  but  no  such  law  has  been  enacted  for  Armenian 
households  or  for  the  non-Mohammedan  people :  they 
are  left  to  the  exercise  of  their  own  religious  laws  and 
liberty.  It  is  true  that  the  greatest  licentiousness  pre- 
vails among  Mohammedans,  but  under  conditions  which 
protect  the  Mohammedan  home  from  pollution  by  for- 


98  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

eigners.  The  Christian  law  may  be  plain  enough,  but 
that  is  set  aside  by  the  unscrupulous.  Armenian  pa- 
rents sold  their  daughters  to  foreigners  to  live  in  wedlock 
for  a  limited  period.  The  practice  was  followed  openly 
and  without  shame.  In  this  way  Armenian  women  be- 
came mistresses  of  foreign  legations,  and  were  conspicu- 
ous for  an  extravagant  and  luxurious  style  of  living. 
Such  relationship  to  foreigners  was  supposed  to  be  a 
source  of  wealth  and  was  greatly  coveted  by  Armenian 
females.  But  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  there  has 
been  a  marked  change  in  this  particular,  attributable 
to  the  influence  of  American  and  English  families  and 
Christian  agencies. 

The  Roman  Catholic  mission  had  been  established  in 
Tehran  for  some  years,  but  its  growth  up  to  this  time  was 
small  indeed  compared  with  its  expansion  in  the  period 
covered  by  this  narrative.  Competition  with  Protest- 
ants appears  to  have  been  an  important  factor  in  the  late 
enlargement  of  this  mission.  At  this  time  there  was  no 
Protestant  mission  in  the  capital,  and  none  had  ever  been 
established  here.  A  Nestorian  colporteur  was  sent  from 
Oroomiah  to  this  city  in  1870.  He  opened  a  bookstall 
in  the  bazar,  and  frequently  preached  in  private  houses, 
especially  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Tyler,  an  English  gentle- 
man and  a  teacher  in  the  Shah's  college.  He  was  here 
during  the  severity  of  the  famine,  and  left  for  India  in 
1872,  and  thence  returned  to  his  home  in  Oroomiah. 
To   the    missionary  in   Tehran  was    committed    the 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  99 

fouuding  of  the  church  aud  the  opening  of  mission- 
work  there,  and  the  supervision  of  the  work  previously 
begun  in  Hamadan.  He  and  his  family  were  now  sepa- 
rated from  all  missionary  associates  by  the  distance  from 
Tehran  to  Oroomiah,  not  less  than  five  hundred  miles. 
The  nearest  mission  of  any  society  was  that  of  Mr. 
Bruce  in  Ispahan.  There  was  no  mission-station  on  the 
east  between  Tehran  and  India.  At  this  time  it  was 
impossible  to  obtain  any  suitable  Nestorian  preacher  to 
aid  in  the  work  in  the  capital.  Mechail,  an  Armenian 
of  Hamadan,  had  been  called  to  meet  Mr.  Bassett  in 
Tehran  to  aid  in  secular  matters.  A  Nestorian  named 
Baba  accompanied  the  missionary  from  Oroomiah  as  a 
colporteur.  He  rendered  efficient  help  as  a  lay  worker 
in  the  villages  and  bazars.  During  the  winter  the  mis- 
sionary resided  in  the  northern  part  of  the  city.  He 
applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Persian  language, 
and  preached  in  the  Turkish  to  Armenians  who  assem- 
bled at  his  house.  In  the  following  year  he  preached  in 
the  Persian  tongue. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  mission  in  Tehran  it  was  to 
be  remembered  that  religious  liberty  had  not  been  given 
by  the  Persian  government  to  its  Mohammedan  subjects. 
The  law  of  the  land,  as  commonly  understood,  does  not 
permit  a  Mohammedan  or  the  child  of  a  Mohammedan 
to  change  his  religious  faith,  and  the  penalty  for  apos- 
tasy is  death.  It  is  true  that  the  law  is,  commonly,  no 
more  nor  less  than  the  caprice  of  the  ruler,  and  that  ca- 


100  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

price  is  fertile  in  expedients  for  doing  whatever  the  ruler 
desires  to  do.  But  the  religious  authorities  have  great 
power,  and  the  secular  authorities  may  yield  to  the 
priests,  and  the  caprice  of  the  ruler  may  accord  with 
their  decisions.  It  was  not  certain  that  the  government 
would  permit  missionaries  to  use  the  Persian  language  in 
Christian  worship  and  instruction.  It  was  also  a  serious 
question  whether  the  secular  authorities  would  permit 
the  circulation  of  Christian  books  in  that  language.  In 
view  of  the  intolerance  of  Islam,  as  well  as  from  con- 
siderations of  special  gain  to  the  mission  cause,  all  pre- 
vious missions  in  Persia,  except  that  of  Mr.  Merrick, 
had  been  designed  exj)ressly  for  some  non-Mohammedan 
sect,  as  the  Nestorians,  Armenians,  Jews  or  Guebers,  and 
the  religious  or  race  language  of  the  sect  has  been  taken 
by  the  missionary  as  his  specialty  and  as  a  medium  for 
instructing  the  people  of  the  sect  for  whom  he  labored. 
In  Tehran  the  number  of  Armenians  was  so  small  as  to 
make  the  sphere  of  mission-work  very  contracted  if  ef- 
fort were  to  be  confined  to  them.  If  the  missionary 
were  to  labor  for  them  exclusively,  and  the  Armenian 
language  were  acquired  for  this  purpose,  Jews  and  other 
people  could  not  be  reached.  But  all  the  people  know 
the  Persian.  It  was  decided,  therefore,  to  carry  on  the 
work  in  the  Persian  language  so  far  as  the  labors  of  the 
missionary  were  concerned,  in  the  hope  that  the  religious 
instruction  would  be  available  to  every  sect  and  race. 
The  decision  has  been  justified  by  results,  and  the  plan 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  3IISSI0N.  101 

adopted  has  been  contiuiied  during  the  subsequent  years. 
Whatever  may  be  said  with  reference  to  the  methods  of 
work  in  other  fields,  this  is  undoubtedly  the  one  best 
adapted  to  the  condition  of  the  people  in  Tehran. 

Early  in  the  spring  (March  6,  1873),  at  the  request  of 
several  Armenians,  a  school  was  opened  near  the  Cas- 
veen  gate.  An  Armenian  named  Lazar  was  employed 
to  teach  ;  he  was  not  then  a  converted  man,  but  subse- 
quently he  gave  evidence  of  a  change  of  heart,  and  united 
with  the  Protestant  church  at  the  time  of  its  organiza- 
tion. He  served  the  mission  as  teacher,  and  later  as 
preacher,  until  his  death  and  during  a  period  of  nearly 
fourteen  years.  The  school  was  opened  with  ten  schol- 
ars. The  attendance  soon  increased  to  fifteen  and  twenty. 
The  Armenians  now  called  a  council  to  determine  what 
their  relations  to  the  mission  and  school  should  be. 
Their  purpose  in  calling  the  meeting  was  to  oppose  the 
mission,  but  temperate  councils  prevailed,  and  they  de- 
cided that  it  was  most  expedient  neither  to  encourage 
nor  to  oppose  the  work.  The  Armenians  were  to  some 
extent  favorably  influenced  by  a  young  merchant  fnjm 
Western  Persia  named  Baron  Matteos.  He  had  been  in 
prosperous  circumstances  and  was  of  a  wealthy  family, 
but  had  suffered  reverses  in  business.  He  had  been  con- 
verted through  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Labaree.  The 
social  position  and  manners  of  this  young  man  were 
such  as  to  give  weight  to  his  words  with  many  persons. 
He  was  quiet  and  gentlemanly,  and  gave  evidence  of  a 


102  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

sincere  faith.  By  identifying  himself  with  the  mission- 
work  he  incurred  the  ill-will  of  his  own  people.  He 
and  Baba  rendered  efficient  service  in  the  bookroom, 
which  was  in  their  care.  Matteos  in  the  next  year  re- 
turned to  Tabriz,  and  was  for  some  time  in  the  service 
of  the  mission  in  that  city.  The  Armenians  now  pro- 
posed a  union  of  the  two  schools,  on  condition  that  no 
religious  instruction  should  be  given  in  it.  Such  a  con- 
dition could  not  be  accepted,  and  therefore  the  mission- 
scliool  was  continued.  A  large  and  influential  number 
of  this  people  are  skeptics,  but  hold  to  the  Church  as 
a  social  organization  essential  to  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Armenian  nation,  language  and  literature.  They  desired 
to  do  much  in  the  way  of  schools,  but  cared  nothing  for 
strictly  religious  doctrines  and  influences. 

In  the  mouth  of  April  the  Shah  departed  for  a  tour 
of  Europe.  The  event  created  great  excitement.  This 
was  the  first  visit  to  European  courts  undertaken  by  any 
Shah,  and  was  thought  by  many  people  to  be  ominous 
of  evil.  Farhaud  Mirza,  the  governor  of  Ardelan,  was 
called  to  the  charge  of  affairs  during  the  king's  absence. 
The  day  of  departure  was  fixed  by  favorable  omens. 
The  Sad-r  Azam,  or  prime  minister,  was  the  principal 
mover  in  the  Shah's  arrangements  and  in  all  the  im- 
provements going  on  in  the  kingdom  and  capital ;  but 
he  brouglit  down  upon  himself  the  displeasure  of  the 
mullahs  and  princes,  and,  most  of  all,  the  wrath  of  one  of 
the  king's  wives,  who  was  a  great  favorite  of  the  king. 


Prime  Minister  in  Court  Costume.        Page  103. 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  105 

It  is  said  that  he  opposed  the  wish  of  this  woman  to  ac- 
company the  Shah  to  Europe,  representing  to  the  king 
that  the  woman  would  be  an  object  of  curiosity  to  Eu- 
ropeans, and  by  her  costume  would  excite  the  mirth  of 
the  populace,  which  would  be  a  dishonor  to  the  queen 
and  a  source  of  mortification  to  the  Shah.  So  the  lady 
returned  and  occupied  the  palace  at  Neaveron,  which  is 
at  the  foot  of  Shimron.  Here  the  mullahs  and  princes 
assembled  during  the  king's  absence  and  plotted  the 
overthrow  of  the  Sadr  Azam.  When  the  king  returned 
to  Anzile,  he  was  there  notified  that  the  discharge  of  the 
Sadr  Azam  had  been  decreed,  and  that  officer  resigned, 
but  was  afterward  appointed  minister  of  foreign  affairs. 
These  events  had  their  influence  upon  the  court  and 
populace,  making  them  ill  disposed  toward  foreigners. 
Some  of  the  khans  and  their  subordinates  were  insolent 
because  they  expected  a  restoration  of  the  old  order-  of 
the  government. 

The  increase  of  the  mission-school  and  the  need  of  a 
place  of  worship  made  it  necessary  to  construct  a  chapel, 
to  be  used  also  as  a  school -room.  A  small  lot  of  land 
near  the  Casveen  gate  was  purchased  and  a  small  build- 
ing erected  thereon.  It  was  completed  May  1st,  and 
opened  for  services  on  the  9th  of  May.  The  Moham- 
medan workmen  employed  in  constructing  this  chapel 
were  very  anxious  to  make  a  show  of  their  own  religion, 
knowing  that  the  building  was  for  Christians  and  think- 
ing that  their  own  fidelity  to  Islam  might  be  questioned. 


106  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION, 

They  were  very  careful  to  be  seen  at  the  hour  of  prayer, 
and  therefore  spread  their  garments  upon  which  to 
kneel  in  the  most  public  places  by  the  side  of  the  street 
and  on  the  wall.  The  Sabbath  services  in  this  chapel 
were  a  Sabbath-school  and  preaching.  These  meetings 
were  attended  by  Armenians,  Jews  and  Mohammedans, 
and  the  room  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity.  This 
good  attendance  continued  until  opposition  was  stirred 
up  by  the  archbishop  and  some  of  his  people,  so  that  the 
Armenian  attendants  were  fearful  of  suffering  violence. 
The  archbishop  came  from  Julfa  near  Ispahan  in  the 
month  of  August.  In  his  representations  to  the  king 
he  asked  that  the  Armenians  might  not  be  made  respon- 
sible for  the  acts  of  the  Protestants,  and  represented 
that  parties  from  America  had  come  to  Persia  with  a 
view  to  the  conversion  of  Armenians  and  Mohammedans 
from  the  faiths  of  their  fathers.  In  July  three  influen- 
tial Armenians  made  complaint  to  the  Naibe  Sultan  that 
the  American  missionary  was  endeavoring  to  subvert 
both  the  religion  of  the  Armenians  and  of  the  Moham- 
medans. In  consequence  of  this  charge  the  naib  sent 
a  farash  to  the  mission-school  to  see  if  there  were  any 
children  of  Mohammedans  there.  There  were,  however, 
no  Mohammedan  children  in  the  school,  and  the  farash 
so  reported.  Two  children  had  been  sent  only  a  day  or 
two  before  this,  but,  as  the  teacher  was  apprehensive  of 
treachery,  they  were  not  received.  Concerning  the  com- 
plaint about  the  conversion  of  Armenians,  the  naib  is 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  107 

reported  to  have  said,  in  substance,  that  since  the  mis- 
sionaries teach  the  same  Bible  as  that  used  by  Arme- 
nians, it  could  not  be  said  that  they  sought  to  destroy 
the  Armenian  religion.  The  mission  was  thus  permitted 
to  continue  its  work,  but  the  order  of  the  archbishop — 
for  he  had  forbidden  his  people  to  attend  the  Protestant 
services  of  public  worship — the  opposition  of  the  priest 
and  the  fear  of  Mohammedans  reduced  the  number  of 
attendants  at  the  cliapel  to  those  who  had  virtually  ac- 
cepted Protestant  sentiments  and  to  the  circle  of  their 
friends.  The  chapel  was  constructed  as  chapels  are  in 
America,  with  the  front  door  opening  on  the  street ;  but 
now  the  Armenians  were  so  much  alarmed,  aud  so  fear- 
ful of  violence  being  offered  by  Mohammedans  either  at 
the  instigation  of  the  mullahs  or  at  the  suggestion  of 
some  of  the  Armenians,  that  they  desired  the  front  door 
might  be  permanently  closed  aud  an  entrance  made 
through  the  court.  Their  request  was  granted,  and  the 
front  doorway  was  filled  up  with  brick,  and  the  vestibule 
used  as  a  bookroom. 

About  twelve  miles  west  of  Tehran  there  was  a  vil- 
lage owned  by  Mohammedans  and  inhabited  by  both 
Armenians  and  Mussulmans.  It  was  called  Feruzbah- 
rom  and  Zard  Aub.  The  Armenians  came  to  this  place 
during  the  great  famine,  hoping  to  reap  an  ample  har- 
vest, for  the  adjacent  lands  are  noted  for  their  abundant 
supply  of  water  and  for  fertility.  The  dwellings  were 
miserable  huts  of  sun-dried  brick,  having  arched  roofs 


108  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  IflSSTON. 

of  the  same  material.  The  wretched  occupauts  of  the 
village  had  perished  of  famine,  and  nearly  every  hut 
had  fallen  in  part.  About  sixty  Armenians  now  inhab- 
ited the  broken  hovels.  They  had  no  means  of  subsist- 
ence except  such  meagre  aid  as  the  owner  of  the  village 
gave,  to  be  repaid  from  the  prospective  harvest.  The 
missionary  and  the  colporteur  Baba  made  frequent  visits 
to  this  place,  and  established  a  congregation  and  school. 
Services  were  begun  in  January,  and  the  school  was 
opened  in  the  month  of  May.  All  the  villagers  came 
to  the  meetings,  and  there  was  soon  a  marked  change 
in  them.  They,  as  all  Armenians  are  taught,  believed 
that  forgiveness  of  sins  must  be  secured  by  the  sacra- 
ments and  absolution  from  a  priest.  They  had  no  re- 
gard for  the  Sabbath  as  a  holy  day,  and  they  did  not 
hesitate  to  lie  and  cheat  and  swear.  They  now  kept  the 
Sabbath,  and  they  were  so  alarmed  at  their  state  that 
some  of  them  said,  "  There  is  nothing  now  that  we  fear 
so  much  as  to  lie  and  curse.''  The  unhealthfulness  of 
the  place  compelled  them  to  seek  a  new  home.  A  num- 
ber died  of  fever,  and  nearly  all  were  sick.  In  the  se- 
lection of  another  village  due  regard  was  had  to  health- 
fulness,  and  they  chose  Bohmain  in  the  Elburz  Moun- 
tains and  in  the  vicinity  of  Damavand.  This  village 
nestles  among  lofty  mountains,  and  its  adjacent  fields 
are  supplied  with  water  from  mountain-streams.  The 
winters  are  severe,  but  in  this  place  they  have  health  and 
a  fair  measure  of  success  in  farming.     In  1880  an  effort 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  109 

was  made  by  the  mission  in  Tehran  to  establish  a  Prot- 
estant viHage  where  the  adherents  of  the  mission  might 
enjoy  the  aid  and  advice  of  the  missionaries  without  op- 
position. Owing  to  representations  made  of  the  fertil- 
ity of  the  soil  and  the  supply  of  water,  the  same  local- 
ity was  chosen,  without  knowledge  or  thought  of  the 
former  experiences  of  the  Armenians  of  that  place.  The 
sickness  of  all  the  people  and  the  death  of  several  in  the 
course  of  the  first  year  so  disheartened  the  remnant  that 
the  project  was  abandoned.  In  the  autumn  of  1874, 
after  the  harvest  had  been  gathered,  the  people  of  Fe- 
ruzbahrom  removed  to  Bohmain,  where  they  have  lived 
until  the  present  time.  As  they  passed  through  Tehran 
going  to  their  new  home,  they  lodged  for  a  night  in  the 
mission-chapel,  being  excluded  from  the  Armenian 
church  by  their  affiliation  with  Protestants.  In  Boh- 
main they  have  had  the  care  and  aid  of  the  mission  in 
the  way  of  schools  and  a  preacher.  Three  years  after 
their  removal  a  converted  priest  was  sent  to  reside  with 
them. 

Early  in  the  summer  there  is  an  exodus  of  Europeans 
and  native  Persians  from  Tehran  to  the  villages  of 
Shimronaut.  The  missionary  removed  to  the  village 
of  Vanak.  This  was  the  largest  suburban  settlement 
of  Armenians.  It  is  situated  on  a  small  plateau  on  the 
slope  of  Shimron.  The  site  commands  a  view  of  the 
plain  on  the  west  and  south,  but  the  view  of  the  city  is 
obstructed  by  higher  ground.     Before  the  drought  which 


110  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

preceded  the  famine  of  1871-72  the  place  was  supplied 
-with  water  and  gardens,  but  in  the  time  of  famine  the 
trees  were  cut  down  and  sold.  Many  of  the  people  left 
for  more  favored  regions.  The  remnant  were  kept  alive 
by  the  funds  distributed  by  foreigners  and  contributed 
from  abroad.  The  British  minister  supported  many  by 
paying  wages  for  workmen  to  construct  roads.  The  fimds 
contributed  abroad  were  thus  disbursed,  and  the  refugees 
were  employed  in  making  roads  to  Gulak  and  Vanak. 
In  the  summer  of  1873  there  was  but  one  garden  near 
the  village.  It  was  just  without  the  gate,  and  was 
owned  by  the  aubdar  of  the  Mustofe  al  Mamalake.  Be- 
ing, as  the  name  denotes,  the  overseer  of  the  water,  he 
could  obtain  a  supply  for  his  garden.  TJie  place  was 
hardly  worthy  the  name  "  garden,"  for  it  had  so  suffered 
from  drought  that  but  few  trees  remained.  This  village 
was  chosen  by  the  missionary  that  he  might  have  oppor- 
tunity to  labor  for  the  Armenians  who  seemed  to  be 
specially  inclined  to  give  a  favorable  hearing.  But  the 
foreign  Armenians  of  the  city  made  a  special  effort  to 
defeat  his  work.  Money  was  given  by  them  with  which 
to  open  a  school  in  the  village.  The  sou  of  the  elder 
priest  of  the  village  was  employed  by  them  to  teach. 
The  two  priests,  Abraham  and  Megerditch,  were  incited 
to  oppose  the  mission.  The  people  were  forbidden  by 
them  to  visit  the  missionary  or  to  attend  the  Protestant 
relio^ious  services.  Priest  Megerditch  was  stationed  at 
the  gateway  to  prevent  the  people  from  going  to  these 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  Ill 

services.  Some  of  them,  however,  on  one  or  two  occa- 
sions left  the  village  secretly,  but  on  their  return  they 
were  cursed  and  beaten  by  Megerditch.  The  feast-days 
were  celebrated  in  the  village  with  greater  zest  and  ex- 
pense than  was  usual.  At  such  seasons  the  entire  male 
population  drink  wine  and  arak  to  excess,  the  liquor  be- 
ing set  out  in  large  kettles  and  open  jars  in  the  courts 
of  the  houses  and  in  the  streets.  In  the  fall  the  priest 
Abraham  died  and  the  charge  fell  to  Megerditch.  This 
man  could  hardly  read  the  ritual,  and  could  not  read  the 
Scriptures  in  the  ancient  language.  Two  years  later  he 
declared  himself  a  Protestant.  In  the  mean  time,  his 
wife  had  died,  and  by  the  laws  of  the  Armenian  Church 
he  could  not  marry  a  second  wife  while  a  priest.  He 
wished  to  marry  again.  His  decision  was  considered  a 
good  indication  by  the  mission,  and  was  respected.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  mission-school  and  training-class  for 
young  men.  After  having  been  in  the  school  for  several 
months  he  was  sent  to  the  Armenian  settlement  of  Kara- 
ghan.  Afterward,  at  his  own  request,  he  taught  a  small 
school  in  the  village  of  Darooz,  and  finally  was  permit- 
ted to  settle  with  his  family  in  the  village  of  Bohmain. 
Here  he  has  remained  until  the  present  time,  a  consist- 
ent Christian  and  friend  of  the  mission.  Some  of  the 
prominent  characteristics  of  this  man  disappeared  at  the 
time  of  his  conversion.  Before  this  he  was  a  loud  talker 
and  a  man  of  violent  temper,  but  his  subsequent  life  has 
been  marked  by  great  mildness  and   moderation.     His 


112  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

wife  and  her  father  and  mother  were  also  of  Vanak, 
and  during  many  years,  have  been  consistent  members 
of  the  mission-church  in  Tehran. 

As  the  season  advanced  the  heat  became  intense.  The 
irrigation  of  the  fields  in  the  early  summer  and  the 
stretches  of  verdure  lessened  somewhat  the  degree  of 
heat,  but  it  was  felt  in  greater  intensity  when  the  har- 
vests were  gathered  and  the  irrigation  of  the  land  ceased. 
All  the  members  of  the  missionary's  family  were  pros- 
trated with  fever  and  were  obliged  to  seek  cooler  air  on 
Shimron.  On  this  occasion  the  forethought  exercised 
at  the  opening  of  the  mission  seemed  to  be  timely,  for 
medical  attention  was  cheerfully  rendered  by  Dr.  Baker, 
medical  superintendent  of  the  government  of  India's 
telegraph  corps  in  Persia.  To  have  resided  in  the  vil- 
lage occupied  by  the  British  legation  would  have  given 
the  missionary  the  pleasure  of  English  society  and  have 
shortened  the  distance  to  be  traveled  by  the  physician ; 
but  the  best  interests  of  the  work  in  hand  seemed  at  the 
time  to  require  that  he  should  forego  the  pleasure  and 
identify  himself  with  the  people  for  whom  he  came  es- 
pecially to  labor. 

Supervision  of  the  congregation  and  the  school  near  the 
Casveen  gate  required  the  missionary  to  reside  in  that 
part  of  the  city.  On  returning,  therefore,  from  Vanak, 
a  house  was  rented  in  that  quarter  and  near  the  chapel. 
The  school  for  boys  had  been  in  session  during  the  sum- 
mer, and  was  now  attended  by  forty  pupils.      The  at- 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  113 

tendance  at  the  school  of  the  old  Armenian  church  had 
risen  from  twenty-five  to  sixty  scholars,  a  number  of 
wliom  were  admitted  without  charge.  In  fact,  the 
school  was  now  essentially  a  free  school,  thanks  to  com- 
petition \vith  Protestant  missions. 

The  interests  of  the  work  in  Tehran  required  the  mis- 
sionary to  attend  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Persian  mis- 
sion to  be  held  in  Oroomiah.  Mr.  Easton  with  his  wife 
and  Miss  Jewett  had  been  appointed  to  Tabriz,  whither 
they  had  gone  in  the  summer.  Going  by  chapar  to  Tab- 
riz, Mr.  Bassett  journeyed  from  that  place  to  Oroomiah  in 
company  with  Mr.  Easton.  At  the  village  of  Ola,  near 
Salmas,  they  met  one  of  the  newly-appointed  missionaries 
of  the  Basle  society  then  on  their  way  to  Tabriz  to  open 
a  mission  of  that  society  for  the  Nestoriaus.  It  was  ar- 
ranged at  the  meeting  in  Oroomiah  that  two  colporteurs 
should  go  to  Tehran  for  service  in  Eastern  Persia,  and 
that  two  native  preachers  should  be  sent  to  be  located,  one 
in  Tehran  and  the  other  in  Hamadan.  Up  to  this  time 
the  school  in  Shevarin  had  been  in  charge  of  Ohanes,  an 
Armenian  of  the  village,  and  the  work  in  Hamadan  had 
been  cared  for  by  Mechail.  Both  of  these  young  men 
had  been  in  Oroomiah  and  in  the  school  at  Seir  for  a 
time,  having  been  taken  to  that  place  by  Mr.  Shedd  in 
1869.  The  return  of  Mr.  Bassett  to  Tehran  could  not 
be  made  before  the  12th  of  December.  The  road  was 
now  covered  with  snow  as  far  as  to  Sultaneah,  a  distance 
of  nearly  two  hundred  miles  from  Tabriz.    The  road  for 


114  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

the  greater  part  of  the  way  lies  over  mountains  and 
highlands.  Violent  rains  prevailed  along  the  valley 
of  Tehran.  In  that  city  rain  fell  continuously  during 
twelve  days,  and  caused  many  roofs  and  houses  to  fall. 
There  was  not  a  dry  ceiling  to  be  seen  in  the  city.  The 
roofs  of  the  best  structures  were  found  to  be  defective. 
The  walls  and  roof  of  a  chamber  recently  constructed  over 
a  part  of  the  house  occupied  by  the  mission  had  fallen. 
The  newly-made  roof  of  earth,  having  become  saturated 
with  water,  by  its  increased  weight  caused  the  main  tim- 
bers to  break,  and  in  its  fall  carried  the  outer  walls. 
Baba  was  sleeping  in  the  room  beneath,  and  was  alarmed 
by  the  crash.  He  sprang  from  the  bed  just  in  time  to 
avoid  the  heavy  timber  of  the  roof,  which,  crashing 
through  the  floor  above  him,  fell  into  the  bed  from 
which  but  an  instant  before  he  had  escaped.  Most  Per- 
sian houses  are  alike  frail.  If  a  stream  of  water  strikes 
the  unburned  bricks  of  the  walls,  they  dissolve  at  once. 
It  is  only  by  repeated  sprinkling  with  straw  and  chaff, 
and  frequent  salting  and  rolling  with  a  heavy  stone 
roller,  that  the  roofs  can  be  kept  in  tolerable  condition. 
The  distress  in  Hamadan  caused  by  the  famine  of  the 
previous  year  had  not  entirely  ceased  with  the  harvests 
of  this  year.  Aid  had  been  sent  to  the  needy  from  the 
famine  fund.  Opposition  had  been  excited  against 
Mechail,  and  he  had  been  assailed  by  Armenians  and 
Mohammedans  on  various  pretexts,  especially  on  the 
charge   of  a   misuse   of  the   funds.      The   charge  wa3 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  115 

thoroughly  investigated,  and  it  appeared  to  have  been 
made  on  account  of,  and  in  revenge  for,  his  refusal  to 
comply  with  all  the  demands  made  upon  him.  The 
Mohammedans  charged  him  with  being  an  agent  of  for- 
eigners. Some  Armenians  thought  to  harm  the  Protestant 
cause  by  injuring  Mechail,  for  they  knew  him  to  be  the 
most  forward  in  the  cause.  A  service  was  held,  by  per- 
mission of  the  priest  Oracale,  in  the  Armenian  church. 
At  the  instigation  of  Mechail  the  handkerchiefs,  cruci- 
fixes, crosses  and  paraphernalia  of  the  old  service  were 
removed  from  the  church,  and  tied  up  in  a  napkin  and 
put  away  in  the  house  of  a  priest,  where  they  have  re- 
mained. The  entire  community  had  become  convinced 
of  the  error  of  the  old  forms  of  worship  and  demanded 
a  reformation.  A  few  persons  yet  held  to  the  old  ser- 
vice, and  the  priest  yet  officiated  for  their  benefit.  Per- 
sonal interest  seemed  to  lead  him  to  pursue  a  compro- 
mising course,  whereby  he  hoped  to  keep  the  favor  of 
the  archbishop  and  his  own  flock.  So  long  as  he  saw 
his  own  support  to  be  assured  he  was  quite  willing 
that  his  people  should  take  their  own  course.  He  seemed 
to  have  felt  some  distrust  of  the  old  order,  and  at  heart 
to  have  entertained  kind  feelings  toward  Protestant  sen- 
timents. He  pursued  this  policy  until  the  last.  A  suc- 
cessor has  never  been  appointed,  or  if  appointed  has 
never  been  able  to  recover  the  lost  ground.  Mechail 
was  not  an  ordained  preacher.  His  zeal  could  not  pre- 
vent the  effects  of  some  imprudence  on  his  part.    He  was 


116  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

naturally  progressive  and  aggressive,  and  the  same  spirit 
which  impelled  him  in  these  first  days  of  reformation 
now  leads  him  to  argue  with  the  missionaries  that  the 
native  Protestant  Christians  can  manage  the  missionary 
work  more  economically  and  efficiently  than  the  mission- 
aries themselves. 

The  same  methods  were  adopted  to  make  Mechail's 
position  untenable  which  are  so  common  in  like  condi- 
tions. The  Mohammedan  authorities  were  set  upon 
him,  and  their  subordinates  endeavored  to  extort  money. 
He  was  obliged  to  leave  the  place,  and  he  fled  to  Tehran. 
Here  he  was  given  charge  of  the  bookstall  in  the  bazar, 
with  the  privilege  of  laboring  as  he  had  opportunity 
among  his  people.  At  times  he  was  appointed  to  preach, 
and  was  given  charge  of  the  chapel,  but  he  did  not  succeed 
in  holding  an  Armenian  congregation  any  great  length 
of  time.  A  congregation  gathered  by  the  missionary  was 
sure  to  run  down  on  his  hands,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  he  had  a  fluent  use  of  the  Armenian  tongue.  The 
only  worker  in  Hamadan  during  several  months  next 
succeeding  these  events  was  the  young  teacher  of  She- 
varin.  A  little  later  Mirza  Abraham  reopened  the 
school  in  the  city,  and  held  the  place  with  fair  success 
as  teacher  during  several  years  and  until  his  death.  He 
was  an  Armenian  of  Hamadan,  a  member  of  the  Prot- 
estant church  organized  a  few  years  later  than  these 
events,  but  he  had  been  instructed  in  the  schools  of 
Hamadan  only. 


Mechail  and  his  Wife.  Page  117 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  119 

The  Nestorian  preacher  who  had  been  appointed  by 
the  annual  meeting  to  go  to  Hamadan,  and  who  was  or- 
dained for  this  purpose,  conchided  to  remain  on  the 
plain  of  Oroomiah.  The  deacons  Guergues  and  Babilla 
came  on  to  Tehran  as  previously  arranged.  Their 
journey  was  made  in  the  month  of  January,  1874,  the 
most  unfavorable  season  of  the  year  for  travel,  but  the 
time  was  of  their  own  choosing.  The  road  was  covered 
with  deep  snows  and  the  way  was  blocked  for  some  days 
by  heavy  storms.  Owing  to  the  unfavorable  season,  the 
two  deacons  wTre  permitted  to  remain  in  Tehran  until 
the  spring.  Guergues  had  formerly  been  in  charge  of 
the  bookroom  in  Tehran.  As  soon  as  the  roads  were 
passable,  he  went  on  to  Hamadan,  arriving  in  that  city 
in  April.  Mechail  and  Babilla  went  with  books  to  the 
villages  of  Karaghan  and  Hamadan. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Persecution  in  Tabriz — Nestorian  Helpers — Tour  of  Mr.  Coan — Peti- 
tion of  Nestorians— How  Disposed  of — Mr.  Bruce  in  Julfa — Open- 
ing of  School  for  Girls — Supply  of  Books — Proposed  Distribution 
of  Scriptures  in  Khorasan — The  City  of  Yezd — Situation  and 
People — Departure  and  Tour  of  Mechail  and  Babilla — Reception 
in  Yezd — Summoned  by  the  Mujtaheed — Peril — Interposition  of 
the  Governor — Flight  of  the  Colporteurs — Eesults — Transfer  of 
Native  Assistants — Opening  of  School  in  the  Eastern  Quarter — In- 
temperance— Summer  Eetreat  at  Tajreesh — Environments — Per- 
sian Monogamy — Religious  Services — Affairs  in  Hamadan  and 
Shevarin — Mission  Removed  to  North  Side  of  Tehran,  called 
Shimron  Gate — Description  of  Buildings — Removal  of  Girls' 
School — Training-Class — Course  of  Study — Summary  of  Schools 
— Annual  Meeting  in  Tabriz — Arrival  of  Mr.  Potter — Return  to 
Tehran — Work  of  Mr.  Potter — Affairs  in  Shevarin  and  Hama- 
dan— Tour  to  Hamadan — The  Governor,  Interview  with — Trial 
of  the  Kathoda — Intemperance  of  the  Native  Persian  Armenians 
— The  Kashish  Klianah — Ceremonies  of  the  Khanah  Described 
— The  Khanah  Suppressed — Taxes  Relevied — Priest  Oracale  seeks 
a  Remission  of  the  Taxes — Negotiations  with  the  Mustofe — The 
Priest  Presents  a  Petition  to  the  Shah — Teachers  sent  to  Karaghan 
and  Rasht — Summer  Retreat — Ascent  of  Shimron — Reinforce- 
ments— Mr.  Bassett's  Tour  to  Tiflis — Rasht,  Armenian  Congrega- 
tions in— Sketch  of  Mission- Work  and  Results  in  Rasht — Baku — 
Armenian  Congregation  of  Protestants — Armenian  Priest — Ar- 
menians of  Shamakha— Sargis,  his  Work  and  Character — Deten- 
tion of  Reinforcements — Mission-  and  Bible- Work  in  Tiflis — 
Russian  Sabbath — Departure  of  Missionaries  to  their  Respective 
Fields — Miss  Sarah  Bassett  takes  Charge  of  the  Girls'  School — • 
120 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  121 

Christian  Literature  in  Persian — Condition  of  the  Persian  Script- 
ures— New  Edition  of  Scriptures  Sought — Mr,  Wright  and  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society — Persian  Hymns  and  Music — 
Attendance  of  Jews — Request  for  Jewish  School — Sketch  of  Jew- 
ish School. 

TN  February  of  1874  there  was  a  sore  persecution  of 
■^  the  Mohammedans  of  Tabriz  who  were  suspected  of 
Christian  sentiments.  Information  of  the  fact  having 
come  to  Tehran  by  telegraph,  the  missionary  in  that  city 
caused  notice  to  be  sent  to  the  Mohammedans  known  to 
be  attendants  at  the  religious  services,  in  order  that  they 
might  absent  themselves  from  the  chapel  for  a  time. 
The  precaution,  however,  seemed  to  be  unnecessary,  as 
no  attempt  was  made  by  the  mullahs  to  do  violence  to 
any  one. 

All  the  Nestorian  preachers  engaged  for  Tehran  by 
the  mission  in  Oroomiah  failed  to  come.  Deacons  Elea 
and  Shamoon  remained  in  the  western  field.  Priest 
Mosha  came  as  far  as  Tabriz  and  entered  the  service  of 
the  mission  in  that  city,  being  engaged  to  do  so  by  Mr. 
Eastou  and  Mr.  Coan.  The  latter,  in  view  of  his  in- 
tended return  to  America,  had  arranged  for  a  tour  to 
Tehran  and  Ispahan.  He  left  Tabriz  in  the  month  of 
March,  going  thence  by  chapar  to  the  capital.  The 
roads  were  in  a  bad  state,  owing  to  the  rains  and  melt- 
ing snow.  Remaining  a  few  days  in  Tehran,  he  in  com- 
pany with  Mr.  Bassett  went  by  chapar  to  Ispahan, 
reaching  that  place  in  three  days,  on  the  18th  of  April. 
They  returned  to  Tehran  on  the  7th  of  May.    Mr.  Coan 


122  PEESIA:  EASTERN  IIISSIOK 

had  special  requests  to  make  of  the  Persian  authorities. 
These  were  embodied  in  a  petition  which  was  sent  from 
the  evangelical  Nestorians,  and  which  reached  the  capital 
after  his  departure.  The  objects  named  in  the  petition 
were — the  release  of  the  Nestorians  who  had  been  drafted 
to  serve  in  the  army  as  musicians  ;  the  prevention  of  ex- 
tortion practiced  on  Nestorians  returning  from  Russia ; 
relief  from  the  violence  perpetrated  by  the  khans  in  the 
villages;  relief  from  the  exactions  of  the  sarparast;  and 
last,  though  not  least,  the  recognition  of  the  '*  Evangelical 
Nestorian  Church "  as  a  separate  organization  having 
all  the  rights  of  other  recognized  sects,  and  having  an 
agent  resident  at  the  court  of  the  Shah  with  power  to 
hear  complaints  and  to  refer  matters  to  the  Shah.  On 
consultation  in  Tehran  the  last  object  was  thought  io  be 
undesirable  and  opposed  to  the  best  interests  of  the  mis- 
sion-work among  all  the  sects  of  Persia,  and  was  there- 
fore abandoned.  The  usually  slow  progress  of  aifairs  in 
Persia  prevented  the  authorities  from  giving  attention  at 
this  time  to  the  other  objects  named.  The  formal  and 
written  petition  had  not  yet  come  to  hand.  These  mat- 
ters, therefore,  were  left  with  the  British  minister.  Soon 
after  this  the  sarparast  died,  and  this  made  any  reference 
to  his  administration  unnecessary.  The  minister  inter- 
posed in  behalf  of  the  musicians.  He  was  told  by  the 
Persian  minister  of  foreign  affairs  that  the  young  men 
would  be  permitted  to  return  to  Oroomiah  on  furlough, 
and  that  they  would  not  again  be  called  out.     At  the 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  123 

expiration  of  several  months  they  returned  to  their 
homes.  It  should  be  noted  here  that  non-Mohammed- 
ans are  not  required  to  render  military  service,  but  are 
taxed  in  lieu  of  such  service.  It  was  thought,  therefore, 
to  be  unlawful  and  oppressive  to  compel  Nestorians  to 
enter  the  army  in  any  capacity. 

It  had  been  proposed  that  the  American  mission 
should  occupy  Julfa  in  case  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  should  not  do  so.  Mr.  Bruce  was  now  living 
in  Julfa  carrying  on  independent  missionary  work.  It 
was  undecided  whether  he  w^ould  remain  longer  than 
might  be  necessary  to  complete  his  revision  of  the  New 
Testament.  An  officer  of  that  society  had  stated  to  a 
member  of  the  American  mission  that  his  society  would 
not  undertake  work  in  Persia.  However,  a  few  months 
later  the  mission  of  I\Ir.  Bruce  was  adopted  by  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  as  its  own  mission.  Here, 
again,  as  in  case  of  the  Komanists,  competition  seems  to 
have  had  a  salutary  eifect.  There  being  no  post  between 
Ispahan  and  Hamadan,  it  was  found  to  be  most  expedi- 
tious for  Mr.  Coan  to  return  to  Tehran.  He  journeyed 
thence  to  Oroomiah  via  Hamadan  and  Senah. 

A  day-school  for  girls  was  opened  in  Tehran  on  the 
24th  of  April  with  twelve  pupils.  Schools  were  re- 
opened in  the  villages  of  Feruzbahrom  and  Darooz — 
the  former  for  the  benefit  of  the  Mohammedans  and  a 
few  families  of  Armenians  yet  living  there  who  could 
not  leave  the  village  at  that  time. 


124  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

One  of  the  most  important  departments  of  mission- 
work  is  the  circulation  by  sale  or  gift  of  Christian  books, 
especially  the  Scriptures.  These  books  are  required  to 
be  in  nearly  all  the  languages  spoken  in  the  kingdom. 
They  were  in  Persian,  Armenian,  Turkish  and  Hebrew. 
The  sources  of  supply  were  the  Bible  and  tract  societies. 
They  were  obtained  chiefly  from  the  American  agencies 
in  Constantinople.  The  books  were  conveyed  by  cara- 
van from  Trebizond  to  Tehran.  The  British  and  For- 
eign Bible  Society  was  the  only  publisher  of  the  Script- 
ures in  Persian.  The  Religious  Tract  Society  of  London 
very  generously  responded  to  calls  for  religious  books  in 
Persian,  so  far  as  any  were  extant  in  that  language.  No 
printing  in  Persian  was  done  by  any  American  society, 
but  books  in  that  language,  especially  the  Scriptures,  were 
obtained  in  great  part  from  Dr.  Bliss,  the  agent  of  the 
American  Bible  Society  in  Constantinople.  The  books, 
especially  the  text-books  prepared  for  schools  in  the 
Armenian  tongue,  were  much  admired  by  the  Persians 
for  the  excellent  style  in  which  they  were  gotten  up. 

Two  years  previous  to  this  time  a  proposition  had  been 
made  by  Mr.  Arthington  of  Leeds,  England,  that  two 
colporteurs  should  be  sent  from  Tehran  through  Khora- 
san  vid  Yezd  and  Tubbes  in  the  great  desert,  thence  to 
return  to  the  capital,  the  object  of  the  tour  to  be  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  Gospels  of  Luke  and  John  in  the  Per- 
sian. These  Gospels  had  not  been  published  in  separate 
volumes,  but,  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Labaree  of  Oroo- 


PERSIA  :   EASTERN  MISSION.  125 

miah,  the  American  Bible  Society,  by  its  agent  in  Con- 
stantinople, arranged  for  the  publication  of  these  Gospels 
by  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  and  the  work 
of  their  distribution,  according  to  the  plan  proposed,  so 
far  as  practicable  was  committed  to  the  supervision  of 
the  missionary  appointed  to  Tehran.  The  books  reached 
that  city  some  two  years  later,  and  arrangements  were 
made  for  their  distribution.  Mechail  and  Babilla  hav- 
ing completed  their  work  in  the  Karaghan  district,  and 
having  returned  to  Tehran,  were  quite  willing  to  go  to 
Yezd  on  the  proposed  tour.  It  was  suggested  that  they 
should  go  at  once  to  Yezd,  open  a  bookstall  there  and  go 
on  immediately  to  Mashhad. 

The  city  of  Yezd  is  situated  in  the  desert  of  Khora- 
san,  but  is  surrounded  by  a  small  tract  of  some  fertility. 
It  is  reputed  to  have  a  population  of  thirty  thousand 
souls ;  all  are  Mohammedans  except  about  five  thousand 
Guebers  and  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  Jews. 
The  place  is  distinguished  for  its  manufacture  of  cotton, 
silk  and  woolen  goods,  as  w^ell  as  for  its  colony  of  Gue- 
bers. Of  the  colony  of  Jews,  four  hundred  perished  in 
the  late  famine.  We  have  no  record  of  the  mortality  from 
the  same  cause  among  the  Guebers. 

Having  taken  a  stock  of  Scriptures  in  Persian  and 
Hebrew,  and  having  been  charged  to  "  salute  no  man  by 
the  way,''  the  two  colporteurs  set  out  for  Yezd  on  the 
18th  of  May,  1874.  They  went  to  Kashan,  and  thence 
crossed  the  section  of  the  desert  which  intervenes  between 


126  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

Kashan  and  Yezd.  This  part  of  the  way  is  very  dreary. 
The  stations  consist  each  of  a  post-house  and  a  few  huts. 
They  were  very  glad  to  have  company  by  the  way,  and 
so  found  a  traveler  like  themselves  bound  for  the  chief 
city  of  the  desert.  They  told  him  of  their  purpose  and 
work.  When  they  had  gone  over  the  greater  part  of  the 
distance  their  traveling  companion  Avished  to  hasten  on, 
and  as  he  carried  no  impediments  in  the  way  of  books 
he  could  travel  faster  than  they  could,  and  as  he  had 
reached  the  settlements  near  Yezd,  he  had  no  special 
need  of  any  protection  which  their  company  could  afford. 
Before  leaving  them  he  advised  them  as  to  the  caravan- 
sary they  should  occupy. 

On  arriving  in  Yezd  the  colporteurs  found  that  their 
coming  had  been  made  known.  Their  companion  had 
reported  with  the  view  of  preparing  the  way  for  them, 
and  had  added  such  embellishments  as  an  Oriental  only 
knows  how  to  use.  He  sought,  no  doubt,  to  do  a  good 
turn  to  the  colporteurs.  The  people  came  in  large  num- 
bers to  the  caravansary,  and  there  was  a  decided  run  in 
the  book  business.  But  many  persons  came  out  of  curi- 
osity. The  business  was  reported  to  the  principal  muj- 
taheed,  and  he  sent  his  farashes  to  bring  the  young  men 
to  his  presence.  This  put  a  serious  aspect  upon  the  sit- 
uation, for  the  mujtaheeds  are  known  to  be  zealous 
guardians  of  the  laws  of  Islam,  and  not  at  all  disposed 
to  tolerate  Christian  books.  The  summons  was  alarm- 
ing, yet  the  colporteurs  obeyed.     The  mujtaheed  received 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  127 

them  very  coolly  and  declared  the  New  Testament  to  be  a 
lie.  He  then  demanded  that  they  should  become  Mussul- 
mans or  convince  him  so  thoroughly  of  the  truth  of  the 
Bible  that  he  should  be  constrained  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian. This  is  the  usual  prelude  to  violent  acts  on  the 
part  of  a  Mohammedan  mullah.  As  he  may  resort  to 
force,  he  has  the  conclusive  argument.  The  mujtaheed 
ordered  that  Mussulmans  should  return  the  Scriptures 
purchased.  The  populace  reflected  the  sentiments  of 
the  religious  authorities.  Some  of  the  people  attempted 
to  stone  the  young  men.  These  were  so  fearful  of  vio- 
lence being  offered  that  they  did  not  dare  to  lodge  in  the 
caravansary,  but  remained  at  night  in  the  gardens  with- 
out. The  governor  of  the  city,  however,  was  very 
friendly.  He  sent  word  to  the  mujtaheed  that  as  these 
men  were  in  the  service  of  foreigners,  their  case  fell 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  secular  authorities  and 
minister  of  foreign  affairs.  Having  heard  from  the  col- 
porteurs a  statement  of  their  affairs,  he  advised  them  to 
leave  the  city,  owing  to  the  evident  evil  design  of  the 
mujtaheed.  They  dared  not  leave  the  city  by  day, 
but  withdrew  in  the  night  to  the  open  fields  near  by 
and  departed  at  early  dawn  for  Ispahan.  All  their 
books,  however,  were  sold,  and  the  supply  was  wholly 
inadequate  to  the  demand.  We  may  reasonably  believe 
that  great  good  was  done.  The  word  was  brought 
openly  to  light  in  one  of  the  darkest  places  of  Asia. 
The  reception  given  to  the  Bible  was  owing,  in  great 


128  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

part,  we  may  suj^pose,  to  the  fact  that  the  book  had  not 
before  this  been  openly  distributed  in  Yezd,  nor  had  mis- 
sionary work  been  attempted  there. 

From  Ispahan  the  colporteurs  returned  to  Tehran  in 
the  month  of  July.  In  i\\^  following  month  Babilla 
was  sent  to  Hamadan  to  take  the  place  of  Guergues,  as 
the  latter  wished  to  return  to  Oroomiah.  He  was  will- 
ing to  remain  in  the  capital  a  few  months,  and  was  given 
charge  of  the  chapel  on  the  west  side  of  town.  A  school 
was  opened  in  the  Armenian  colony  in  the  eastern  quar- 
ter of  the  city,  and  religious  services  were  held  here  on 
Sabbaths.  There  was  not  a  house  in  the  colony  in  which 
wine  or  arak  was  not  made,  and  the  missionary  stipu- 
lated in  renting  the  room  that  no  wine  or  alcohol  should 
be  made  or  drunk  on  the  premises.  Every  house  was  a 
drinking-den  to  which  Mohammedans  resorted  for  gam- 
bling and  drinking.  The  manufacture  and  sale  of  al- 
coholic drinks  is  the  most  lucrative  business  in  which 
the  non-Mohammedans  can  engage :  it  could  not  be  so 
profitable  were  there  no  Mussulman  patrons. 

The  season  was  far  advanced  before  the  missionary 
removed  for  the  summer.  The  village  of  Tajreesh  was 
selected  for  the  summer  retreat.  It  is  the  largest  village 
of  Shimronaut,  and  contains  about  five  thousand  people, 
all  of  whom  are  Mohammedans.  It  is  some  two  miles 
above  and  north  of  the  British  and  Russian  retreats.  A 
good  supply  of  water,  arable  lands  and  a  high  altitude 
have   all   combined   to   make   this   the   most   desirable 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  131 

suburban  village.  It  is  surrounded  by  extensive  gardens 
and  groves  of  poplar,  fruit  and  chinar  trees.  Many 
of  the  officers  of  the  Persian  government  have  their 
retreats  here.  The  French  legation  occupies  spacious 
grounds  in  the  border  of  the  village,  and  the  Austrians 
for  some  time  rented  premises  a  short  distance  below  the 
French.  The  village  itself  is  a  cluster  of  miserable 
hovels  of  Persian  peasants,  but  it  commands  an  exten- 
sive prospect  of  the  plains  on  the  south.  The  city,  how- 
ever, is  hidden  by  low  hills  at  the  foot  of  Shimron. 
Durinor  the  sunamer  relieiious  services  were  held  on  Sab- 
baths  in  the  building  occupied  by  the  mission,  and  were 
attended  by  Armenians  from  the  villages  of  Darooz  and 
Yanak  and  by  Mohammedans  and  Europeans.  The 
garden  and  pavilion  of  Farhaud  Mirza  were  adjacent  to 
the  premises  occupied  by  the  mission.  Mrs.  Bassett  was 
occasionally  a  guest  of  the  Persian  ladies  of  the  prince's 
household.  The  prince  had  but  one  wife,  in  deference, 
it  is  said,  to  the  lady's  family ;  so  also  his  daughter  was 
the  only  wife  of  a  prince.  It  is  frequently  the  case  that 
a  Persian  will  forego  the  privilege  of  polygamy  out  of 
regard  to  the  rank  of  his  wife  or  from  affection  for  her. 
This  fact  shows  the  popular  judgment  of  the  relation  of 
polygamy  as  an  institution  to  the  women  of  Persia. 

A  little  way  from  the  mission-premises  was  the  gar- 
den of  the  king's  treasurer  and  the  king's  son-in-law. 
The  summer  palace  of  this  prince  was  on  an  extensive 
scale,  and  the  grounds  were  spacious  and  were  laid  out 


132  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

in  good  taste.  The  owner  of  the  property  was  suddenly- 
killed  while  the  palace  was  yet  incomplete,  and  it  re- 
mains in  about  the  same  condition  as  that  in  which  he 
left  it.  Yet  the  place  is  not  so  incomplete  as  to  be  un- 
worthy of  the  pretentious  name  which  it  bears — namely, 
Boghe  Firdose,  the  "  Garden  of  Heaven."  This  prince 
also  had  but  one  wife,  for  it  was  thought  to  be  wholly 
unworthy  and  unbecoming  his  connection  with  the  king 
for  him  to  take  another. 

At  this  time  there  was  no  marked  change  in  the  aifairs 
of  the  mission  in  Hamadan.  The  priest  of  Shevarin 
professed  great  friendship  for  the  mission,  and  desired 
to  have  a  school  in  that  village.  He  was  very  friendly 
so  long  as  his  own  son  was  employed  as  teacher  and  he 
practiced  the  old  rites  of  the  Church  and  taught  the 
Church  Catechism.  This  book  is  a  curious  work  when 
considered  in  the  light  of  Protestant  sentiment.  On 
visiting  the  school  in  the  next  spring  the  missionary  ob- 
served that  the  catechism  was  taught,  and  he  requested 
the  children  to  recite  it.  In  answer  to  the  question, 
^'  What  evidence  do  you  give  of  being  a  Christian  ?" 
the  reply  was  made,  "  I  make  the  sign  of  the  cross  and 
take  the  sacrament."  The  old  priest  would  not  tolerate 
any  other  teaching,  and  finally  became  so  hostile  as  to 
incite  the  people  against  the  school  and  the  Protestant 
worship.  Ohanes  was  put  in  charge  of  the  school,  but 
in  the  course  of  the  winter  he  was  driven  from  the  place 
by  the  kathoda  of  the  village  and  the  school  was  closed. 


Girls'  School,  Tehran. 


Page  133. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  135 

There  was  now  a  promise  of  reinforcements  from  the 
United  States  for  the  mission,  and  it  seemed  to  be  im- 
portant to  obtain  premises  adapted  to  the  prospective 
increase  of  the  mission-work.  Buildings  were  to  be  had 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  city  at  a  reasonable  rental, 
and  arrangements  were  therefore  made  to  secure  them 
with  a  view  to  their  occupancy  in  the  autumn.  The 
place  was  situateil  near  the  king's  garden,  Lala  Zar,  and 
between  it  and  what  is  now  the  Tob  Maidon.  The  build- 
ings were  not  all  that  could  be  desired,  but  they  were 
ample.  They  were  divided  by  four  courts,  each  of 
which  could  be  entirely  separated  from  the  othere.  One 
of  the  divisions  was  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  girls' 
school,  and  the  rooms  were  furnished  after  the  Persian 
fashion.  This  school  had  been  opened  in  the  house  of 
an  Armenian  woman  named  Anna  Haunum,  near  the 
old  Armenian  church,  in  the  western  part  of  town.  The 
school  was  kept  as  a  day-school  during  the  summer. 
On  the  8th  of  February,  1875,  it  was  removed  to  the 
new  quarters  provided  for  it,  and  was  opened  as  a  board- 
ing-school w^ith  nine  pupils.  On  the  22d  of  the  month 
the  attendance  had  increased  to  fifteen  boarders  and  two 
day  pupils,  under  the  supervision  of  Mrs.  Abigail  W. 
Bassett  and  Mr.  Bassett.  The  instruction  was  in  charge 
of  Mirza  ISIechail,  and  later  was  in  the  care  of  an  Ar- 
menian of  Tehran  named  Ohanes.  A  native  woman 
had  charge  of  the  domestic  arrangements,  subject  to  the 

direction  of  the  missionaries.      The  rooms  of  another 
8 


136  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

part  of  the  mission-premises  were  used  for  recitation  by 
a  class  of  young  men  who  were  preparing  to  be  teachers 
and  preachers.  The  class  numbered  seven  pereons,  all 
of  whom,  except  one,  were  from  Hamadan.  All  of  them 
became  membei*s  of  the  church,  and  have  led  consistent 
Christian  lives,  and  four  of  them  are  preachers  in  the 
service  of  the  mission,  three  being  in  Tehran  and  its 
vicinity  and  one  in  Hamadan.  Two  of  the  class  were 
sent  to  Roberts  College  at  Constantinople  in  1883,  and 
after  remaining  there  three  years  they  returned  to  Tehran, 
where  they  are  now  employed  as  teachei-s.  One  of  the 
class  is  in  Hamadan,  and  is  said  by  the  missionaries  of 
that  city  to  be  an  efficient  man  and  preacher.  He  has 
doubtless  been  greatly  helped  by  the  training  and  ex- 
perience obtained  in  Hamadan.  These  young  men  at 
this  time  pursued  their  studies  in  Armenian  under  the 
instruction  of  Lazar,  who  was  considered  the  l^st  scholar 
in  ancient  Armenian  to  be  had  in  Tehran.  They  took 
lessons  in  Persian  and  Arabic  from  a  well-qualified  Per- 
sian, and  they  received  instruction  every  day  in  the  Bible 
and  in  Christian  doctrine  from  the  missionary.  A  large 
room  in  the  building  occupied  by  the  mission  was  used 
for  the  services  of  public  worship,  and  the  missionary 
preached  here  every  Sabbath  for  the  benefit  of  the  pupils 
of  that  school  and  the  people  living  in  that  part  of  the 
town.  There  were  now  three  schools  in  Tehran  and  one 
in  the  village  of  Darooz. 

Armenians  and  Mohammedans  gathered  frequently  in 


A 

^m 

4i> 

•A 

■    1 

S«i.  ^                 .Ji: 

;  i\ 

! 

i^  /  if 

Training-class  of  Young  Men.  Page  137 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  139 

the  book-room  in  the  bazar  for  conversation  with  the 
native  helpers  and  other  Christians.  There  were  also 
frequent  visits  of  inquirers  at  the  mission-premises. 
The  number  of  scholars  in  the  east-side  school  was  now 
seventeen,  in  the  west-side  school  thirty,  and  in  the  girls' 
school  seventeen — making,  in  all  the  schools  of  the  city, 
sixty-four  pupils. 

The  annual  meetino^  of  the  Persian  mission  was  this 
year  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Tabriz,  and  it  was  neces- 
sary that  the  missionary  at  Tehran  should  attend  the 
meeting.  He  therefore  journeyed  to  that  city  by  chapar, 
this  being  the  fifth  time  that  he  had  made  the  journey 
between  the  cities  of  Tehran  and  Tabriz.  The  mission 
recommended  at  this  time  an  appropriation  for  the  pur- 
chase of  press  and  type  by  the  station  of  Tehran  for 
printing  in  Persian.  The  purchase  of  the  press  was 
made  four  years  later.  As  previously  arranged  by  let- 
ter, the  missionary  here  met  the  Rev.  Joseph  L.  Potter, 
who  had  been  appointed  to  the  mission  in  Tehran.  Mr. 
Potter  came  from  the  United  States  by  way  of  Constan- 
tinople, Trebizond  and  Van.  At  the  close  of  the  meet- 
ing the  two  missionaries  journeyed  to  Tehran,  reaching 
that  city  on  the  21st  of  November,  1874.  During  the 
winter  Mr.  Potter  gave  his  attention  to  the  study  of  the 
Persian  language,  assisted  in  the  secular  business  of  the 
mission  and  preached  in  English  to  a  congregation  of 
foreio-ners  now  o-athered  for  Sabbath  services  in  the  mis- 
sion-premises.     A  large  reception-room  in  these  premises 


140  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

furnished  ample  and  comfortable  quarters  for  the  services 
of  public  worship. 

The  work  in  Hamadan  demanded  attention,  and  early 
in  the  spring  the  missionaries  visited  that  city.  The 
opposition  to  the  mission-work  in  the  village  of  She- 
varin  has  been  mentioned.  There  was  a  division  in  the 
village  between  the  adherents  of  the  old  Church  and 
the  advocates  of  reform.  Opposition  was  being  stirred 
up  in  Hamadan  also.  The  governor  of  the  city  at  this 
time  was  a  brother  of  the  Shah.  He  had  represented 
Persia  at  foreign  courts,  and  was  a  gentleman  of  refined 
manners  and  well  informed  in  European  affiiirs.  It  is  a 
significant  fact  that  he  takes  European  and  American 
periodicals.  Courtesy  required  that  the  missionaries 
should  call  upon  him.  At  the  appointed  hour  they 
went  to  the  palace.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  and 
after  the  usual  crowd  of  the  dewan  khanah  had  been 
dismissed.  The  prince  had  retired  to  his  private  apart- 
ments. The  missionaries  were  conducted  through  a  laby- 
rinth of  corridors  and  rooms.  Such  an  approach  may 
be  well  calculated  to  impress  the  mind  of  an  Oriental 
with  an  idea  of  the  sanctity  of  the  person  who  dwells 
within,  but  no  such  impression  is  made  on  the  mind  of 
one  accustomed  to  Western  ideas  of  business  and  the 
value  of  men.  It  is  not  to  be  assumed,  however,  that 
Western  ideas  are  necessarily  better  than  those  of  the 
East  in  this  particular.  In  Europe  and  America  the 
common  estimate  of  men  is  affected  very  much  by  the 


Governor  of  Hamadan. 


Page  141. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  HUSSION.  14^ 

extent  of  the  lauds  through  which  the  house  is  ap- 
proached or  by  the  extent  of  the  factory  and  quantity 
of  machinery  in  view  of  which  one  passes  to  the  man 
who  controls  the  establishment.  The  Asiatic  has  not 
yet  formed  his  estimate  by  this  measure. 

The  prince  entered  the  room  wearing  a  cashmere  gown 
trimmed  with  fur  and  reaching  to  the  instep,  and  em- 
broidered Persian  slippers  of  Rasht  work.     He  resem- 
bles the  Shah  in  stature  and  features.     The  room  was 
furnished  with  a    Persian   carpet,  curtains   and   chairs. 
Reference  was  made  to  the  conduct  of  the  kathoda  of 
Shevarin  in  reply  to  the  question  of  the  governor  if 
there  was  anything  he  could  do  for  us.     We  asked  if 
there  was  not  liberty  for  Armenians  in  religious  matters, 
to  which  he  replied,  '^  Yes,  there  is  religious  liberty  for 
everybody  in  Persia."     The  kathoda  and  priest  had  pro- 
fessed to  act  in  obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  archbishop. 
The  governor  advised  that  we  refer  the  matter  to  the 
prince,  an  officer  of  the  Tehran  government,  w-ho  owned 
the  village,  saying  that  if  this  person  did  not  attend  to 
the  business  he  w^ould  himself  see  to  it.     The  conduct 
of  the  kathoda  was  referred  to  the  prince,  and  a  hearing 
of  the  case  was  appointed.     The  kathoda  had  threatened 
Protestants,  and  had  said  that  if  they  continued  their 
efforts  "  blood  would  be  shed.''     The  prince  expressed 
doubts  at  first  w^hether  the  case  did  not  fall  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  archbishop  as  the  head  and  ecclesi- 
astical ruler  of  the  Armenians.     To  this  it  was  replied 


144  PEESIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

that  the  missiou  did  not  recognize  the  authority  of  the 
archbishop,  and  that  it  rested  with  the  authorities  of  the 
secular  law  to  say  whether  any  persons  in  Persia  had  tlie 
right  or  privilege  of  changing  their  religious  faith  and 
worship.  Christians,  Jews  and  Guebers  were  permitted 
to  become  Mohammedans,  and  it  was  understood  by  the 
mission  that  the  religious  liberty  of  these  sects  was  rec- 
ognized by  the  Persian  authorities,  and  examples  were 
cited,  as  in  Tehran,  Oroomiah,  Ispahan  and  other  places. 
To  this  view  of  the  case  the  prince  assented,  saying  that 
if  any  of  the  people  of  Shevarin  desired  a  school  or  to 
hold  religious  services  they  ought  not  to  be  prevented. 
The  result  was  that  the  prince  ordered  the  kathoda  to  be 
bastinadoed  then  and  there.  The  missionaries,  however, 
had  no  desire  to  see  the  man  harmed,  and  at  their  re- 
quest he  was  discharged  on  promising  never  again  to 
interfere  with  the  schools  and  congregation  and  on  giving 
bonds  to  keep  the  peace.  The  prince  inquired,  "  What 
shall  be  done  with  the  priest?^'  He  deserved  to  be 
turned  out  of  the  village,  as  he  had  driven  the  Protest- 
ant teaclier  away,  but  the  missionaries  not  wishing  to 
retaliate,  he  was  permitted  to  remain  in  the  village. 
Unfortunately,  in  this  case  the  teacher  was  intemperate. 
Tins  fact  was  no  real  apology  for  the  conduct  of  the 
priest  and  kathoda,  nor  was  it  any  cause  of  their  action, 
for  they  also  drank. 

The  complaint  against  the  teacher  was  started  at  this 
time,  because  of  the  known  temperance  sentiments  of 


Mim 

Wm*h''^m 

L  ! 

^^^^ 

V:::f^: 


Armenian  Priest.  Page  145. 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  147 

the  mission,  it  beiug  said  that  he  did  not  represent  the 
mission.  It  may  have  been  thought  to  have  some  in- 
fluence with  Mohammedans  by  such  a  charge,  yet  it 
could  not  have  nmch  weight  with  them,  for  tlie  habits 
of  all  tlie  Armenians  were  too  well  known  to  them. 
When  the  missionary,  in  the  presence  of  the  prince,  said 
to  the  kathoda,  "  How  can  you,  who  drink  and  are 
drunken,  make  such  a  complaint  of  this  teacher  ?''  he 
could  only  reply,  "  We  are  drunken  in  the  night,  but 
this  man  is  drunk  in  the  daytimej^  The  teacher  recon- 
ciled all  parties,  however,  on  the  temperance  question  by 
signing  a  total-abstinence  pledge.  At  this  stage  of  the 
mission-work  it  was  impossible  to  find  Armenians  of 
strictly  temperate  habits.  All  non-Mohammedans  are 
in  the  habit  of  drinking  wine  or  arak,  usually  both. 
While  they  extol  temperance  in  sentiment,  they  think  it 
no  sin  to  drink.  Priests  and  people,  therefore,  use  wine 
to  beastly  excess.  We  cannot  expect  them  to  become 
advocates  of  temperance  until  they  have  been  instructed 
and  reformed.  But  it  is  a  marvel  to  wdiat  excess  of  drunk- 
enness they  will  go  in  secret.  Drunkenness  by  day  is 
one  of  the,  great  improprieties.  Such  is  the  force  of 
this  custom  that  intemperance  practiced  during  many 
years  is  often  concealed. 

Guergues  and  Babilla  having  left  Hamadan,  Caspar, 
of  the  training-class,  was  appointed  a  temporary  supply 
of  the  congregation.  Some  of  the  people  had  opened  the 
Kashish  Khanah,  so  called  by  Armenians,  but  Falgier 


148  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

Khanah,  as  named  by  Mohammedans  and  Jews ;  that  is, 
"  house  of  magic  art."  The  literal  translation  of  the 
first  name  is  "  priest's  house/'  so  named,  it  is  said,  be- 
cause first  opened  by  a  priest.  The  writer  once  held  a 
conversation  with  a  man  who  had  charge  of  the  Kashish 
Khauah  during  several  years.  The  ceremonies  practiced 
in  the  place  were  simply  the  repetition  of  selections  from 
the  New  Testament  and  ritual  and  other  sacred  books 
for  the  cure  of  the  sick  and  for  other  objects.  An  exten- 
sive business  was  carried  on  in  this  house  in  writing  the 
passages  of  the  Bible  and  the  prayei's  on  parchment  and 
paper,  to  be  used  as  talismans  and  to  be  laid  on  the  sick. 
Mohammedans  were  the  patrons  of  the  establishment. 
When  asked  if  he  thought  the  business  was  right,  he 
said  that  he  did  so  consider  it  at  the  time.  When  asked 
if  he  knew  of  any  cures  of  diseases  being  effected  by  the 
ceremonies  and  prayers,  he  replied  that  he  did.  He  jus- 
tified the  traffic  carried  on  by  saying  that  there  could  be 
no  harm  in  reading  the  Bible  to  the  people  and  reading 
or  reciting  prayers  for  them.  He  justified  the  sale  of 
the  talismans  by  the  financial  straits  of  the  colony  and 
the  exactions  of  the  Persian  authorities.  The  Moham- 
medans, he  said,  filched  from  Christians,  and  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  them  in  return  is,  he  argued,  entirely  justi- 
fiable. 

Whatever  the  fact  may  be  as  to  the  efficacy  of  these 
prayer-houses,  it  is  certain  that  some  of  the  people  have 
great  faith  in  them.     But  many  resort  to  them  in  des- 


Armenian  Patriarch,  Page  149, 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  151 

peration  as  an  expedient  in  emergencies.  The  mission- 
ary had  required  that  the  Kashish  Khanah  should  be 
closed,  but  there  were  some  persons  in  the  colony  who 
yet  adhered  to  the  old  order  of  things  or  acted  independ- 
ently. The  matter  having  now  been  considered  with 
the  people,  the  missionaries  informed  the  priest  Oracale 
and  the  congregation  that  the  mission  would  withdraw 
from  them  entirely  unless  the  khanah  were  abandoned. 
They  therefore  gave  a  written  agreement  not  to  open  the 
institution  again,  and  that  should  any  one  do  so  he 
should  be  excluded  from  the  congregation.  Matters  in 
Hamadan  and  Shevarin  having  been  adjusted  as  far  as 
seemed  to  be  possible  at  this  time,  the  missionaries  re- 
turned to  Tehran. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  months  after  the  events  re- 
corded above  the  Persian  authorities  relevied  the  old  tax 
of  two  hundred  and  six  tomans  on  the  Armenians,  and 
the  colonists  were  not  able  to  pay  it.  This  tax  had  been 
levied  many  years  before  under  an  assessment  made  when 
the  colony  numbered  one  hundred  houses  of  some  seven 
hundred  souls,  but  the  colony  now  comprised  no  more 
than  thirty  houses,  or  about  two  hundred  souls  at  the 
most.  Priest  Oracale  came  to  Tehran  for  the  purpose 
of  getting  the  tax  remitted.  The  priest  remained  in 
Tehran  during  several  months.  The  secretary  named 
Mustofe  al  Mamalake  had  charge  of  the  assessments, 
but  he  committed  the  business  to  subordinates,  who  re- 
sorted to  all  manner  of  expedients   to  extort  from  the 


152  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

people.  Tlie  mustofe  finally  agreed  to  obtain  a  firman 
from  the  Shah  remitting  the  whole  tax,  provided  he  were 
paid  the  equivalent  of  the  tax  for  one  year  and  twelve 
hundred  bottles  of  wine.  The  sum  of  money  was  finally 
discounted  to  one  hundred  tomans,  the  amount  paid  and 
the  firman  issued  to  be  delivered  on  receipt  by  the  mus- 
tofe of  twelve  hundred  bottles  of  wine.  These  were 
afterward  sent  from  Hamadan,  and  the  firman  obtained. 
Since  that  time  the  Armenians  have  been  free  from  the 
oppressive  tax. 

There  was  a  curious  incident  connected  with  this  aifair. 
It  is  a  custom  with  the  Shah  to  permit  the  presentation 
of  petitions  to  himself  as  he  passes  through  the  streets. 
This  is  made  possible  by  the  order  of  escort  which  is 
adopted.  In  that  order  there  is  a  long  space  between 
the  van-  and  rear-guards.  In  this  space  the  Shah  rides 
or  walks  alone.  Footmen  called  shahteers — that  is, 
spears  of  the  king — walk  on  the  highway  on  either 
hand  of  the  Shah,  separated  by  wide  spaces.  A  person 
wishing  to  present  a  petition  stands  with  his  paper  on 
his  bare  head  and  close  by  the  road  where  the  Shah  will 
see  him.  The  priest  of  Hamadan,  having  become  weary 
with  delays,  concluded  to  try  a  petition,  and  so  stood  in 
the  highway.  He  wore,  as  usual,  his  black  gown,  and, 
uncovering  his  head,  placed  the  paper  on  it.  He  was 
seen  by  the  king,  who  after  inquiring  of  a  shahteer  who 
the  man  was,  ordered  the  petition  to  be  received.  The 
petition  was  for  the  relief  of  the  congregation  from  the 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  153 

taxes.  The  Shah  wrote  on  the  back  of  the  paper  this 
order  to  the  miistofe :  viz.  ^'  Examine  the  taxes  of  the 
Armenians  of  Haniadan  and  report  to  rae.''  Nothing 
further  was  heard  until  the  above-mentioned  proposal 
of  that  officer.  The  taxes  were  remitted  for  this  year, 
but  in  the  following  year  were  again  demanded,  the  rea- 
son assigned  being  that  the  wine  had  not  been  delivered. 
It  was  forthwith  forwarded  to  the  mustofe. 

At  the  close  of  the  school-year  young  men  of  the 
training-class  were  sent  as  colporteurs  to  Karaghan  and 
to  Rasht.  Earnest  requests  for  schools  and  teachers  had 
been  received  from  both  these  places.  From  the  former 
place  the  request  first  came  in  1873,  but  the  increased 
work  and  expense  could  not  then  be  undertaken.  The 
summer  retreat  this  season  was  the  village  of  Tajreesh, 
but  the  house  rented  was  the  only  one  that  could  be  ob- 
tained. It  was  on  the  margin  of  the  village,  and  so 
exposed  on  the  north  and  east  to  the  heat  of  barren 
lands  as  to  become  in  the  course  of  the  summer  ex- 
tremely hot,  although  the  altitude  of  the  mountain  at 
this  point  is  not  less  than  five  thousand  feet  above  the 
sea. 

Some  account  of  a  day  of  recreation  in  the  mission 
may  be  a  pleasant  episode  in  our  narrative.  The  two 
missionaries  set  out  for  the  ascent  of  Shimron.  The 
mountain  is  very  precipitous,  yet  a  road  has  been  con- 
structed by  which  beasts  of  burden  pass  very  near  the 
summit.     "  Starting,"  writes  Mr.  Bassett,  "  at  dawn,  Au- 


154  PERSIA:  EASTERN  HUSSION. 

gust  19th,  we  followed  the  road  by  Sayedabad.  From 
this  place  there  is  no  more  than  a  blind  trail  of  goat- 
herds. We  led  our  horses  over  the  greater  part  of  the 
ascent.  In  some  places  the  rocks  seemed  to  be  impass- 
able, but  by  a  zigzag  course  we  picked  our  way  over  the 
huge  rocks  and  up  the  steep  sides  of  the  ravines.  Hav- 
ing been  told  that  there  is  a  glacier  on  the  northern  slope 
of  the  mountain,  we  passed  below  the  highest  point,  go- 
ing to  the  opposite  side ;  but  we  found  no  more  than  a 
few  drifts  of  snow  in  the  shaded  places.  Not  a  plant 
or  a  shrub  grew  on  the  mountain-side.  Patches  of  green 
grass  were  seen  in  places  where  the  snow  had  recently 
melted.  The  highest  point  of  snow  was  found  to  be 
11,950  feet  above  the  sea-level.  Near  this  point  we  ate 
our  luncheon,  and  Mr.  Potter  noted  that  water  boiled  at 
189°  Fahrenheit.  We  began  to  return  by  crossing  the 
highest  point,  now  covered  with  sunlight  and  clear  of 
snow,  and  found  that  my  barometer  indicated  an  alti- 
tude of  12,750  feet.  From  this  summit  we  had  a  fine 
view  of  the  mountains  on  the  north  and  of  the  gorges  or 
valleys  of  the  Shah  Rud  and  Jorje  Rud.  On  the  south 
were  the  mountains  of  Karao^han  and  broad  stretches 
of  the  desert  and  country  toward  Koom.  At  our  feet 
were  the  plains  of  Ra  and  Tehran  and  the  city  nine 
thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  below  us." 

Word  having  been  received  of  the  arrival  at  Constan- 
tinople of  reinforcements  for  the  mission,  it  was  arranged 
that  Mr.  Bassett  should  go  to  Tiflis  to  meet  those  persons 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  155 

of  the  party  who  had  been  appohited  to  Tehran.  This 
seemed  to  be  necessary,  for  the  route  through  Georgia 
and  Persia  is  difficult  to  one  who  has  not  a  knowledge 
of  the  languages  spoken  in  those  countries  or  who  is  not 
acquainted  with  the  mode  of  travel  customary  in  them, 
and  an  escort  is  indispensable  to  ladies  unaccustomed  to 
the  country.  The  missionary  left  the  capital  on  the 
24th  of  September,  1875,  going  vid  Rasht  and  Baku, 
the  most  direct  route  to  the  capital  of  Georgia.  The 
road  to  Rasht  crosses  the  plains  of  Tehran  and  Casveen 
and  the  Elburz  Mountains,  and  passes  through  the  jun- 
gle of  Gelan,  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles.  Rasht  is 
the  principal  emporium  of  the  Caspian  sea-coast  in  Per- 
sia, but  the  seaport  is  about  eighteen  miles  north-westward 
of  that  city  and  on  the  northern  side  of  the  bay  called 
Mord  Aub.  While  in  Rasht  opportunity  was  given  the 
missionary  to  investigate  the  condition  of  the  Armenians 
and  to  consider  the  expediency  of  opening  mission-work 
here.  Religious  services  were  held  in  the  house  of  an 
Armenian  named  Zohrab.  The  tw^o  young  men  from 
Tehran  had  opened  a  school.  One  of  them  gave  his 
attention  to  colporcage.  The  Armenians  had  no  school, 
but  soon  after  this  began  one  in  the  house  of  the  priest. 
It  was  started  in  opposition  to  the  mission  effort.  The 
priest  opposed  the  Protestants  from  the  first.  He  had 
been  abroad  in  Europe  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
funds  wherewith  to  complete  the  two  churches  under  his 
care,  one  in  Rasht  and  the  other  in  Anzile.     The  walls 


156  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

of  both  structures  were  nearly  completed,  but  work  had 
ceased  for  lack  of  fuuds.  These  were  obtained,  how- 
ever, in  a  year  or  two,  and  the  structures  finished. 

The  mission-work  begun  in  Rasht  at  this  time  has 
been  continued  until  the  present  day.  It  was  inter- 
rupted in  1876,  but  resumed  in  the  following  year.  It 
was  again  suspended  by  reason  of  the  plague.  Mechail 
was  living  here  with  his  family  when  the  plague  first 
appeared,  and  he  thereupon  returned  to  Tehran.  This 
scourge  was  attended  with  great  mortality,  but  fortu- 
nately was  not  communicated  to  any  other  city  in  the 
kingdom.  In  the  autumn  of  1883  a  church  was  organ- 
ized in  liasht,  and  has  been  sustained,  and  supplied  with 
native  teachers  and  preachers  from  Tehran.  The  organ- 
ization of  the  church  was  the  immediate  result  of  the 
labors  of  Mirza  Lazar,  the  first  teacher  in  Tehran.  He 
taught  and  preached  in  Rasht  in  1881-82,  with  much 
efficiency  and  acceptance.  It  has  been  difficult  to  find 
native  Persians  of  other  places  who  are  willing  to  live 
in  Rasht  as  teachers  and  preachers,  owing  to  the  un- 
healthfulness  of  the  Caspian  Sea  coast. 

The  missionary  continued  his  journey  by  steamer  to 
Baku.  Arriving  at  this  place  on  Sabbath  morning,  he 
went  immediately  to  the  place  of  worship  of  the  Prot- 
estant congregation.  He  had  been  informed  of  this  so- 
ciety by  an  Armenian  whom  he  met  in  Rasht,  and  who 
was  a  passenger  on  the  steamer.  The  people  were  now 
assembled  for  worship,  and  were  led  by  Avek  Yartinoff, 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  ^flSSTON.  1  59 

an  Armenian  and  member  of  the  police.  Making  him- 
self known  to  this  man,  he  addressed  the  people,  and  an 
appointment  was  made  for  him  to  preach  in  the  after- 
noon. The  congregation  met  in  a  priv^ate  house,  having 
no  place  or  house  of  worship.  It  was  understood  that 
the  Russian  authorities  would  not  permit  the  erection  of 
a  church  by  this  society,  the  organization  not  being  rec- 
ognized by  them.  There  was  a  marked  contrast  between 
the  appearance  of  the  Armenians  of  this  place  and  their 
coreligionists  of  Persia.  The  former  seemed  to  be  in 
much  better  circumstances  than  the  latter.  This  con- 
trast may  be  observed  in  all  the  Armenians  of  Russia. 
By  invitation  the  missionary  dined  with  the  priest  of 
one  of  the  principal  Armenian  churches  of  Baku.  This 
man  in  the  early  years  of  his  priesthood  had  professed 
Protestant  sentiments  and  went  to  Germany,  entering 
the  service  of  the  German  missionaries ;  but  the  priva- 
tions to  be  met  were  much  greater  than  he  had  antici- 
pated, and  he  returned  to  the  service  of  the  Armenian 
Church.  A  pleasant  and  tidy  family  gathered  at  the 
table  over  which  the  priest  and  his  wife  presided  after 
the  customs  of  Europeans.  Arriving  at  Shamakha,  the 
missionary  met  the  leader  of  the  Protestant  Armenians 
of  that  place.  The  mission  of  Sargis  has  been  aided  by 
the  Germans  with  funds  for  the  erection  of  buildings 
and  support  of  schools  and  teachers.  The  pastor  of  this 
flock  is  now  an  old  man,  and  is  disposed  to  retire  from 
the  active  duties  of  his  charge.     He  is  in  many  particu- 


160  PERSIA  :   EASTERN  MISSION. 

Ijii's  a  rcMKii-kahk;  man — nMuarkahh^  for  lils  ])i('ty,  iiitcl- 
Icci,  scli'-sacrilu^o  and  acOiii^vciiuMils.  II is  \\i\\  lias  hccn 
oncoflrial  and  extritiiiu;  iMiuTgciicies,  and  the  work  lie 
lias  acconiplislicd  is  an  example  to  all  his  j)(M)j)le  who 
would  IxMielit  their  race.  Considering  the  work  to  which 
lie  has  been  (tailed,  it  seems  to  have  been  fortunate  that 
he  has  chosen  a  celibate  life. 

On  arriving  at  Tiflis  the  missionary  received  word 
of  the  detention  of  the  reinforcements  at  Constantinople 
on  account  of  the  sickness  of  a  son  of  Mr.  Labaree.  It 
was  arrang(>d,  however,  that  the  other  members  of  the 
party  should  conw  on  to  Tiflis,  and  thence  go  on  to  Per- 
sia. A  week  must  elapse  before  they  could  get  to  Pote. 
During  this  time  the  missionary  made  the  accpiaintance 
of  some  of  the  Armenians  and  Nestorians  of  that  city. 
There  was  but  a  small  band  of  the  latter  2)eople.  The 
Armenians  of  Tiliis  are  many  and  prosperous,  but  no 
Protestant  mission  has  been  oj)ened  among  them,  ow- 
ing to  the  restrictions  j)ut  on  such  ellbrt  by  the  Russian 
government.  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 
has  sustained  a  depot  of  its  publications  and  an  ag(uit 
here.  Mr.  Watt  was  the  successful  agent  of  that  socnety 
at  this  time.  He  had  sold  many  thousand  coj)ies  of  the 
Scriptures  to  the  soldiers  of  the  Russian  army.  The 
missionary  was  much  im})ressed  with  the  absence  of  Sab- 
bath observance  in  Russia.  The  Sabbath  is  the  great 
market-day,  and  from  this  circumstance  has  come  the 
Turkish  and  Mohammedan  name  of  the  Christian  Sab- 


Baku  Mu86ulman  and  Wili;.      1  „>^.,  u,l. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  163 

bath  ;  that  is,  Bazar  Guen,  market-day.  The  churches 
were  opened  for  worship  and  the  shops  for  trade.  The 
eutii-e  contents  of  the  shops  appeared  to  have  been  turned 
into  the  streets.  The  highways  were  blocked  with  loads 
of  wood,  provender,  vegetables,  furniture,  clothing  and 
everything  that  market-men  and  merchants  have  to  sell 
or  that  people  are  supposed  to  want. 

The  party  from  Constantinople  having  come  to  Pote 
and  Tiflis  at  the  appointed  time,  arrangements  were 
made  for  the  journey  to  Persia.  Mr.  Stocking  had  now 
come  from  Oroomiah,  and  accompanied  Miss  Van  Duzee 
and  Miss  Pogue  to  that  city  to  engage  in  the  mission- 
work  there.  Miss  Sarah  Bassett  having  been  appointed 
to  the  mission  in  Tehran,  she,  in  company  with  her 
uncle,  journeyed  to  that  city,  where  they  arrived  in  the 
month  of  December.  She  immediately  took  charge  of 
the  girls'  school,  making  her  home  in  the  building  oc- 
cupied by  the  pupils.  Though  not  then  acquainted  with 
the  Armenian  language,  she  was  able  to  superintend  the 
business  and  domestic  arrangements  of  the  school,  and 
in  the  course  of  the  following  year  was  able  to  superin- 
tend the  instruction  in  the  Armenian,  language. 

One  of  the  most  seriously-felt  wants  at  this  time  was 
a  Christian  literature  in  Persian.  There  were  almost 
no  published  works  in  that  tongue  to  use  as  text- 
books or  with  which  to  supplement  the  teaching  of  the 
missionaries.  There  was  much  in  the  Armenian  that 
was  available  for  Armenians.     The  books  prepared  in 


164  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

Constautinople,  though  differing  somewhat  from  the 
vernacular  of  Persian  Armenians,  are  fairly  well  under- 
stood by  this  people.  But  in  the  Persian  language  there 
is  no  trace  of  Christian  literature,  except  the  few  books 
which  have  been  prepared  within  the  last  fifty  years, 
which  may  all  be  counted  on  one's  fingers.  Martyn's 
translation  of  the  New  Testament  and  Glen's  version 
of  the  Old  Testament  are  the  ones  commonly  used. 
Attention  was  given  to  the  form  of  the  Persian  Script- 
ures by  the  missionaries  in  Tehran.  The  only  edition 
of  the  Old  Testament  was  an  octavo  volume  of  1658 
pages.  The  New  Testament  was  an  octavo  volume  of 
532  pages,  and  the  entire  Bible  was  made  up  of  these 
two  bound  in  one  volume  of  2190  octavo  pages.  The 
great  size  of  the  book  was  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  gen- 
eral circulation  and  use  of  it.  Th-e  members  of  the 
Tehran  mission  recommended  (February  25,  1876)  to 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  that  it  issue  an 
edition  of  the  entire  Scriptures  in  Persian  in  a  small 
form  suitable  for  general  circulation.  The  recommenda- 
tion was  adopted  by  that  society,  and  as  soon  as  practi- 
cable thereafter  such  an  edition  was  published.  Rev. 
William  Wright,  the  superintendent  of  publication  of 
the  society,  responded  promptly  to  the  request  of  the 
mission,  and  was  ever  ready  to  encourage  the  work  of 
Bible  distribution  in  Persia.  The  Bible-work  in  that 
land  owes  much  to  his  encouragement  and  efficient  aid, 
sustained  by  the  noble  society  which  he  represents.    The 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  165 

whole-souled  and  manly  spirit  which  that  society  by  its 
officers  exercises  toward  the  weary  workers  in  desert  and 
dreary  lands  is  truly  refreshing. 

A  small  collection  of  translated  hymns,  prepared  at 
first  by  Deacon  Yohannan  in  Tehran  in  1874,  having 
been  revised  and  enlarged  by  Mr.  Bassett,  was  now  pub- 
lished at  a  Mohammedan  press  in  Tehran  (March,  1876) 
for  the  use  of  the  mission.  This  appears  to  be  the  first 
and  only  collection  of  Christian  hymns  in  the  Persian. 
A  few  hymns  were  translated  and  added  by  Mr.  Bassett 
in  1884.  This  little  book  has  been  used  in  the  services 
of  public  worship  since  the  time  of  the  first  edition  until 
now.  The  preparation  of  sacred  song  for  worship  in 
Persian  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  tasks.  Persians 
have  no  music  which  can  be  used  in  religious  services. 
In  fact,  they  have  no  music  at  all  which  is  not  an  im- 
portation. The  music  of  the  Armenian  Church  is  no 
more  than  reading  and  intoning.  The  Mohammedans 
have  a  method  of  chanting  a  few  well-known  pieces,  but 
these  are  unwritten  and  are  not  suitable  to  Christian  wor- 
ship. In  the  preparation,  therefore,  of  sacred  song  the 
most  common  expedient  is  to  use  the  music  of  English 
and  American  churches.  These  tunes  are  composed  for. 
English  verse.  Only  a  few  of  these  measures  are  found 
in  Persian  poetry.  In  some  countries  the  custom,  with 
missionaries,  is  to  write  the  foreign  words  in  English 
measure ;  but  this  cannot  be  done  in  Persian  without 
such  a  departure  from  the  rules  of  Persian  versification 


166  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

as  to  shock  the  good  taste  of  the  iutelligent  and  edu- 
cated Persians.  In  the  first  hymns  some  were  cast  in 
the  English  measure  to  correspond  with  the  music  to 
which  the  words  are  set  in  English  books,  but  in  later 
translations  it  has  been  the  purpose  to  follow  the  rules 
of  Persian  prosody. 

In  the  autumn  of  1875  and  the  following  winter  and 
spring  there  was  a  large  attendance  of  Jews  at  the  ser- 
vices of  public  worship  on  the  mission-premises.  As 
many  as  one  hundred  were  sometimes  present,  also  a 
goodly  number  of  Armenians  and  some  Mohammedans. 
The  Jewish  women  were  at  all  times  the  most  disorderly 
persons  in  the  congregation.  In  fact,  all  were  quiet  and 
respectful  except  them.  They  would  talk  aloud  during 
the  service  with  reference  to  all  they  saw  and  heard. 
The  reproofs  of  their  husbands  and  fathers  were  not 
sufficient  to  keep  them  in  order.  A  result  of  the  inter- 
est taken  by  the  Jews  was  a  request  for  a  school  in  their 
colony.  There  was  delay  in  acceding  to  the  request,  be- 
cause that  suitable  buildings  could  not  be  had.  There 
was  now  a  school  for  Armenian  children  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  Jewish  quarter.  Arrangements  were  made  later 
to  send  the  Jewish  children  to  this  school.  The  first  week 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  children  attended.  It  was 
found  to  be  necessary  to  limit  the  number.  These  chil- 
dren walked  through  the  streets  and  bazars  from  the 
Jewish  to  the  Armenian  quarter.  They  were  often  set 
upon  by  Mohammedan  children  and   Mussulmans  and 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  167 

beaten.  It  was  necessary  to  obtain  the  services  of  police- 
men to  protect  them  as  they  went  and  came.  Some 
months  later  the  Armenian  children  were  transferred  to 
the  school  on  the  mission-premises  and  a  house  rented 
for  the  school  in  the  Jewish  quarter.  The  lack  of  funds 
caused  the  closing  of  the  scliool  in  1880,  but  it  was  re- 
opened in  the  following  year  under  more  favorable 
auspices,  and  was  continued  with  good  results.  In  1883 
an  attempt  was  made  by  certain  Jews  to  break  up  the 
school.  The  assistant  teacher,  a  rabbi,  was  forced  to 
leave  the  school  with  the  children  in  his  department. 
The  principal  of  the  school  was  a  converted  man  and 
a  member  of  the  church  at  the  time  of  this  opposition. 
He  appealed  to  the  Persian  authorities.  His  life  had 
been  threatened  and  the  school-children  were  beaten 
from  the  door  of  the  school.  The  parents  of  many  of 
them  were  fearful,  and  the  attendance  was  in  this  way 
greatly  reduced.  The  authorities,  however,  finally  caused 
the  leaders  of  the  opposition  to  be  arrested  and  fined. 
The  school  was  first  opened  with  Mechail  as  superin- 
tendent; after  him  Caspar  had  control;  but  in  1881,  and 
until  1884,  the  principal  was  a  converted  Jew  named 
Baba,  a  physician  of  Tehran. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

Organization  of  the  Church  in  Tehran— Need  of  a  Confession — Char- 
acter of  the  Converts — Contributions— Hosein  Ale,  his  Parents 
and  Work — Preparation  of  Mohammedans  for  the  Gospel — Rela- 
tion of  Officers  of  the  Persian' Government  to  Missionaries — 
The  Sadr  Azam — Colporteurs  in  Casveen — Summoned  by  the 
Governor — Their  Work  in  the  Villages — Hamadan — Changes  of 
Preachers — Arrival  of  Kasha  Shamoon — Sale  of  Books — Interest 
among  Jews — Narrative  of  the  Work  among  the  Jews — Trials  and 
Aims  of  the  Jews — Firman  for  their  Protection — Their  Appeal  to 
the  British  Society — Changes — Special  Services — Publication  of 
the  Tract  Primer — The  Censor  of  the  Press — Testimony  of  the 
Mujtaheed  concerning  the  Primer — Other  Translations — Mr. 
Potter's  Tour  to  Mashhade  Sar  and  Quarantine — Boute  to  Mash- 
hade  Sar — Work  of  the  New  Missionaries — English  Services — 
Statistics  of  1878. 

/^NE  of  the  most  interesting  events  in  the  history  of 
^^  this  mission  was  tlie  organization  of  a  church  in 
Tehran  on  the  26th  of  March,  1876,  with  a  member- 
ship of  twelve  native  Persians.  Of  these,  ten  men  and 
one  woman  were  Armenians,  and  one  man  was  a  con- 
verted Mohammedan.  Three  elders  and  two  deacons 
were  chosen  and  ordained.  The  elders  were  Lazar,  Me- 
chail  and  Usta  Abraham.  The  deacons  were  Caspar  and 
Carepet.  A  short  summary  of  doctrine  and  a  covenant 
were  adopted,  and  the  same  were  subsequently  used  at  the 

organization  of  the  church  in  Hamadan.     It  is  possible 
168 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  169 

that  a  confession  may  not  he  necessary  for  every  church, 
yet  it  would  seem  to  he  important  on  mission-fields,  for 
many  reasons.  Tiiere  is  for  the  whole  Church  no  com- 
mon standard  of  belief,  as  in  American  and  European 
churches,  and  in  the  present  hostile  attitude  of  the  sects 
it  would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  form  one  ex- 
actly in  accord  with  the  sentiments  of  one  sect  which 
would  not  be  objectionable  to  another.  That  only  would 
be  satisfactory  which  is  very  general  and  elementary, 
comprehending  the  essentials  of  Christian  doctrine.  In 
the  absence  of  such  there  is  danger  that  the  native 
preachers,  each  for  himself,  will  undertake  to  form  a 
creed  for  his  church. 

The  Armenians,  having  been  baptized  in  infancy, 
were  not  rebaptized ;  the  Mohammedan  convert  was 
baptized.  All  these  }3ersous  had  been  examined  in  their 
knowledge  of  Christian  doctrine  and  duty  and  their  evi- 
dences of  piety.  All  professed  a  change  of  heart.  After 
twelve  years  of  acquaintance  with  them  I  know  not  that 
any  one  of  them  has  denied  the  faith  either  by  word  or 
act.  In  succeeding  years  other  persons  have  united  with 
this  church,  and  it  gives  promise  of  permanency  and 
future  influence.  The  members  of  the  church  began 
immediately  to  contribute  of  their  income  according  to 
their  ability.  Contribution-boxes  were  put  in  the  cha- 
pel by  the  side  of  each  door ;  an  account  of  the  collec- 
tions was  kept  by  the  deacons,  and  the  annual  report 
showed  results  creditable  to  the  church.    "Several  of  the 


170  PERSIA:   EASTERN  MISSION. 

members  were   teachers,  and    others  were  pupils,  iii  the 
mission-schools. 

Of  all  these  no  one  excited  more  interest  than  tlie  con- 
vert from  Islam.  He  was  not  the  only  one  who  was 
thought  by  the  mission  to  be  prej)ared  for  membership. 
He  had  been  intimate  with  the  native  Christians  and  ac- 
quainted with  the  mission  for  nearly  a  year  before  making 
a  public  profession.  His  change  of  sentiments  was,  at  the 
time,  unknown  to  his  family.  Later,  however,  the  fact 
became  known  to  his  mother,  and  then  to  his  father, 
but  they  were  anxious  to  conceal  it.  At  first  it  was  a 
source  of  great  grief  and  alarm  to  his  mother,  who  used 
every  endeavor  to  change  his  purpose.  Finally,  when 
the  report  came  to  the  father,  he  caused  his  son  to  be 
bound,  and  began  to  beat  him,  threatening  to  kill  him ; 
but  his  mother,  hearing  the  noise,  appeared  on  the  scene 
and  pleaded  for  her  son.  She  was  a  first  wife,  and  so  en- 
titled to  more  consideration  than  the  other  three  wives. 
Her  authority  was  recognized.  The  sou,  however,  was 
not  a  favorite  with  his  fixther,  owing  to  the  schemes  of 
later  wives,  Avho  wished  to  alienate  the  property.  Ho- 
sein  entered  the  service  of  the  mission  as  a  colporteur, 
and  was  very  successful.  He  had  two  wives.  To  one 
of  these,  however,  he  was  only  betrothed,  after  the  cus- 
tom of  the  country.  But  that  betrothal  could  not  be 
broken  any  more  readily  than  a  marriage  contract.  It 
may  seem  not  to  be  demanded  by  the  Christian  law  that  in 
such  case  he  should  be  required  to  put  either  wife  away  if 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  171 

they  were  both  minded  to  live  with  liim  after  his  change 
of  religion.  It  is  to  be  said,  however,  that  Moham- 
medan marriage  is  not  Christian  marriage.  Tlie  relation 
formed  in  it  is  from  the  first  looked  ui)on  by  both  par- 
ties to  the  marriage  as,  possibly,  a  temporary  one.  The 
Mohammedan  wife  agrees  to  a  divorce  on  payment  of  a 
stipulated  sum.  The  divorce  is  not  attended  with  any 
dishonor,  but  is  taken  to  be  a  matter  of  course.  The 
relation  of  husband  and  wife  does  not  rest  upon  mutual 
affection,  nor  is  it  formed,  at  first,  on  any  such  ground. 
There  are  instances,  no  doubt,  in  which  the  divorce 
should  not  be  insisted  upon  as  a  qualification  for  church- 
membership.  The  condition  and  necessities  of  the  par- 
ties to  be  separated  should  be  considered.  From  the 
first  engagement  of  this  man  with  the  mission  he  has 
been  a  colporteur  until  now.  He  carried  the  Scriptures 
to  the  people  on  the  plains  of  Ra  and  Varomene.  He 
placed  the  Bible  in  several  mosques  in  Tehran,  where  it 
was  secretly  studied  by  students  of  the  schools.  He  car- 
ried books  to  Koom  and  Kashan  on  several  occasions. 
In  1878  he  was  called  to  Mashhad  to  take  charge  of  a 
depository  in  that  city.  He  remained  here  during  the 
year,  laboring  Avith  marked  success  until  his  return  to 
Tehran. 

The  inquiry  may  arise  why  Mohammedans  in  Persia"^ 
are  not  affected  by  missionary  labor?     In  answer  it  may 
be  said   that   mission  effort  when  directed  to   the   two 
classes,  Mohammedans    and    nominal    Christians,  finds 


172  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

them  in  veiy  different  coDclitious  of  mind.  The  former 
have  no  intellectual  and  religious  preparation  inclining 
them  to  accept  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the  gos- 
pel. Whatever  of  Christian  truth  has  reached  them 
has  come  in  the  distorted  and  perverted  form  presented 
in  the  Koran,  and  is  intended  to  prejudice  their  minds 
against  the  Christian  statement  of  the  gospel.  In  every 
people  which  has  been  brought  under  the  power  of  that 
gospel  there  has  been  a  long  period  of  preparation  be- 
fore any  great  reformation  has  been  effected. 

Officers  of  the  Persian  government  seem  to  be  very 
cautious  not  to  identify  themselves  in  any  way  with  mis- 
sions and  missionaries.  They  are  less  cautious  in  the 
country  than  in  the  capital.  Here  association  with  the 
representatives  of  a  foreign  religion  might  be  made  use 
of  by  rivals,  and  any  suspicion  as  to  their  religious  pro- 
clivities would  be  equivalent  to  social  ostracism.  The 
men  of  rank  have  political  and  social  standing  which 
they  guard  with  great  caution,  and  to  which  they  sacri- 
fice every  other  interest.  Men  who  are  known  as  pro- 
gressives among  their  own  people  furnish  no  exception 
to  this  statement.  The  late  Sadr  Azam  had  the  reputa- 
tion among  Europeans  and  Persians  of  being  a  very  lib- 
eral man,  and  of  having  used  his  influence  for  progress 
and  the  improvement  of  Persia.  He  cultivated  friendly 
relations  with  foreign  governments,  and  sought  to  intro- 
duce to  Persia  the  education  and  arts  of  Europe.  But 
as  a  reformer  and  progressive  he  was  a  great  sham.     His 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  173 

improvements  did  not  extend  beyond  the  adornment  of 
the  capital  and  the  construction  of  a  few  telegraph-lines. 
In  fact,  he  seems  not  to  deserve  the  credit  of  the  latter 
improvement.  He  interfered  more  with  missionary  work 
than  the  most  bigoted  Mohammedan  who  has  held  the 
office  of  minister  of  foreign  affairs  in  late  years.  Every 
mission  in  Persia  suffered  restrictions  during  his  admin- 
istration ;  his  appointees  as  sarparasts  were  most  imbecile. 
He  issued  stringent  orders  concerning  Mr.  Bruce's  work 
in  Julfa ;  he  put  restrictions  on  converted  Jews  in  Ham- 
adan ;  and  finally  he  issued,  ostensibly  by  command  of 
the  Shah,  those  orders  which  made  all  foreign  missiona- 
ries  in  that  land  a  body  of  police  to  guard  Mohammed- 
ans against  Christian  influences.  AVhen  we  consider  that 
he  was  reputed  to  be  more  infidel  than  Mohammedan,  and 
that  his  private  life  was  understood  to  be  licentious,  his 
conduct  with  reference  to  missionaries  can  be  reasonably 
accounted  for  only  on  the  supposition  that  he  was  partic- 
ularly desirous  that  no  suspicion  of  sympathy  with  a 
foreign  religion  should  rest  upon  himself. 

At  the  close  of  the  spring  term  of  the  school  two 
young  men  were  sent  to  the  city  of  Casveen  and  the  ad- 
jacent regions  for  the  purpose  of  selling  the  Scriptures 
and  other  religious  books.  The  city  is  wholly  Moham- 
medan except  a  few  Armenian  inhabitants.  Many  of 
the  people  are  Baubes,  but  secretly  such,  and  outwardly 
are  identified  with  the  ruling  sect.  The  colporteurs  oc- 
cupied a  room  in  the  caravansary,  where  in  the  course 


174  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

of  a  short  time  they  were  visited  by  many  purchasers 
of  books.  Some  of  the  mullahs  complained  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  work,  and  he  ordered  that  Mohammedans 
should  not  purchase.  This  order,  he  claimed,  was  for 
the  protection  of  the  colporteurs.  No  doubt  he  expected 
to  reap  a  double  advantage,  assuming  to  protect  the  book- 
sellers and  the  interests  of  Islam.  He  ordered  the  young 
men  to  appear  before  him  to  investigate  the  reports.  On 
the  evening  of  June  19th  two  farashes  were  sent  to  con- 
duct them  to  the  governor's  palace.  They  obeyed  the 
summons,  taking  with  them  copies  of  the  Scriptures. 
When  asked  what  the  doctrines  of  the  Protestants  were, 
they  gave  in  reply  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament.  The 
governor  read  portions  of  it,  and  pronounced  it  a  good 
book.  He  said  that  he  could  not  prohibit  the  sale  of 
the  books,  because  duty  had  been  paid  on  them  as  ar- 
ticles of  merchandise.  He  assured  the  colporteurs  that 
he  would  protect  them.  They  found,  however,  that  the 
people  had  been  so  alarmed  and  that  the  mullahs  were  so 
opposed  that  their  work  was  now  at  an  end  in  this  place  ; 
they  therefore  departed  for  Karaghan.  One  of  them  went 
on  to  Hamadan ;  the  other  spent  the  season  in  going  to 
the  Mohammedan  villages  between  Karaghan  and  Sava. 
He  openly  offered  the  Bible  for  sale  in  the  bazars  and 
maidons  of  thirty-four  villages,  and  sold  a  goodly  number 
of  books  to  the  Mussulmans,  yet  met  with  no  opposition. 
A  new  impulse  was  now  given  to  the  work  in  Hama- 
dan.    I   have  stated  that   in   consequence  of  the  with- 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  175 

drawal  of  Deacon  Guergues  from  that  city  Caspar  had 
been  sent  thither.  Guergues  returned  to  Oroomiah  in 
June,  1875,  and  in  the  following  October,  Caspar  re- 
turned to  Tehran  to  pursue  liis  studies,  and  Priest  Sha- 
moon  was  sent  from  Oroomiah  to  take  the  place  made 
vacant  in  Hamadan,  and  arrived  in  that  city  on  the  6tli 
of  November.  He  preached  in  the  Turkish  language  to 
the  Armenians ;  he  also  gave  attention  to  the  sale  of 
books.  The  bookstall  in  that  city  was  now  resupplied. 
Several  boxes  of  the  Scriptures  in  Hebrew  were  sold  to 
the  Jews.  Books  in  Persian  and  Armenian  were  also  in 
demand.  The  Protestants  were  now  for  the  first  time 
organized  into  a  church.  The  first  members  were  all 
Armenians,  but  in  the  course  of  the  following  two  years 
much  religious  interest  was  excited  among  the  Jews  by 
the  labors  of  the  priest.  This  interest  seemed  to  reach 
its  height  in  the  winter  of  1877-78.  Previous  to  this 
date  no  Jews  were  attendants  on  Christian  worship.  In 
1877  some  thirty  Jew^s  of  Hamadan  professed  Christian 
sentiments,  but  they  were  not  prepared  for  membership 
in  the  church,  and  inany  of  them  w^ere  moved  to  favor 
missionary  eifort  among  themselves  from  the  expectation 
of  political  and  secular  advantage,  hoping  to  receive  pro- 
tection against  the  extortion  of  Mohammedans.  They 
wished  the  American  mission  to  furnish  them  with 
schools.  Manj-  attended  the  preaching  of  Priest  Sha- 
nioon.  Meetings  for  religious  worship  were  held  in  the 
houses  of  some  of  the  people.     The  movement  was  met 


176  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

with  the  old  spirit  of  intolerance,  and  persecution  fol- 
lowed. The  Jews  of  the  synagogue  sought  the  support 
of  the  Mohammedan  authorities.  The  leaders  of  the 
Christian  party  were  Doctors  Jan  and  Raheem,  and  a 
jeweler  named  Hyim.  Raheem  was  in  favor  with  the 
authorities.  The  old  party  refused  the  Christian  Jews 
entrance  to  the  synagogues,  baths  and  markets,  on  the 
pretext  that,  being  Christians,  they  were  unclean.  The 
Christians  sought  to  overcome  opposition  by  an  appeal 
to  the  Mohammedan  authorities.  At  the  solicitation  of 
the  Christian  Jews,  Mr.  Bassett  undertook  to  obtain  an 
order  from  the  Persian  minister  of  foreign  affairs  for 
their  protection.  Such  an  order  was  issued.  It  declared 
the  riffht  of  Jews  to  chano^e  their  relio-ious  views  and 
forms  of  worship  and  to  become  Christians  or  Arme- 
nians, and  forbade  any  one  to  molest  them  in  any  way; 
but  the  same  firman  declared  the  right  of  tlie  Jews  to 
the  undisturbed  exercise  of  their  religious  rights — to  own 
baths,  shops  and  markets,  and  to  admit  or  exclude  there- 
from whomsoever  they  would.  This  virtually  sustained 
the  right  to  exclude  Christians.  On  this  account  the 
firman  was  not  satisfactory  to  the  reformers.  They 
wished  to  compel  the  Jews  to  admit  them  to  the  baths 
and  shops.  A  little  later  certain  Armenians  advised  an 
appeal  to  Mr.  Bruce  and  to  the  missionary  societies  of 
the  Church  of  England,  with  a  view  to  obtain  the  polit- 
ical or  personal  rights  sought.  Letters  were  written  to 
the  American  missionary  in  Tehran  having  charge  of  the 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  177 

business  saying  that  the  old  Jews  must  be  forced  to  open 
their  markets  and  shops  to  Christian  Jews,  and  threat- 
ening a  union  with  British  societies  unless  such  advan- 
tage could  be  obtained  for  them  by  the  Americans.  The 
missionary  replied  that  no  such  orders  could  be  reason- 
ably expected  or  asked  of  the  Persian  government,  and 
that  the  petitioners  should  be  content  with  the  liberty  of 
their  own  convicti(ms  and  personal  rights.  In  1878  a 
petition  for  schools  and  aid  was  drawn  up  by,  or  at  the 
instigation  of,  an  Armenian,  signed  by  the  greater  part  of 
the  proselytes  and  forwarded  to  Mr.  Bruce,  and  was  then 
sent  by  him  to  the  London  Society  for  Promoting  Chris- 
tianity amongst  the  Jews.  A  favorable  response  was 
made  by  that  society,  and  two  years  later  two  missiona- 
ries were  sent  by  them  to  the  Jews  of  Hamadan,  but  were 
withdrawn  in  1884. 

Mr.  Potter  left  Tehran  September  4,  1876,  to  attend 
the  meeting  of  the  Persian  mission  to  be  held  in  Oroo- 
miah.  He  went  to  Tabriz,  and  thence  to  Oroomiah,  in 
company  with  Mr.  Easton.  Mirza  Mechail  started  for 
Rasht  on  the  20th  of  the  same  month  to  labor  in  that 
city.  A  few  months  later  he  was  obliged  to  leave  Rasht 
on  account  of  the  prevalence  there  of  the  plague.  The 
week  of  prayer  was  observed  by  the  church  of  Tehran 
in  the  first  week  of  the  year  1877,  the  members  of  the 
church  and  the  missionaries  conducting  the  exercises. 
In  the  spring  of  this  year  two  of  the  training-class  were 
sent  to  Hamadan  and  vicinity  to  labor  as  colporteurs. 


178  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

The  native  teacher  Ohanes  returned  to  Shevarin,  and 
one  of  the  training-class  was  sent  to  take  liis  place  in  the 
village  of  Tchenoktche  in  the  mountains  of  Karaghan. 
Priest  Megerditch  was,  at  his  own  request,  permitted  to 
labor  in  the  village  and  in  the  adjacent  settlement.  In 
Tehran  special  services  for  inquirers  were  held  on  Fri- 
days, and  the  articles  of  the  confession  were  at  stated 
times  explained  to  the  members  of  the  church  and  to 
all  who  thought  of  uniting  with  it. 

The  translation  of  the  American  Tract  Society's  Tract 
Primer  having  been  completed  by  Mr.  Bassett,  that 
society  made  an  appropriation  for  the  publication  of  it. 
Some  delay  was  occasioned  by  the  effort  to  have  the 
work  printed  in  London,  to  secure  better  work,  but  it 
was  found  to  be  less  expensive  to  publish  it  through  a  Mo- 
hammedan press  in  Tehran.  The  publication  led  to  some 
interesting  incidents  showing  the  relation  of  the  mission- 
work  to  the  Persian  authorities.  It  is  required  that 
every  book  printed  shall  be  approved  by  the  censor  of 
the  press  before  publication.  His  seal  must  be  put  upon 
the  manuscript  before  the  printer  can  put  the  work  in 
the  press.  The  seal  of  the  censor  was  committed  by  him 
to  his  mother,  as  was  also  the  prerogative  of  examining  the 
manuscripts.  When  the  manuscript  of  the  Tract  Prim- 
er was  presented  to  her  for  her  approval,  she  observed 
the  illustrations  and  noted  that  the  book  was  a  Christian 
work,  and  ordered  her  scribe  to  examine  it  closely.  The 
examination  being  comjjleted,  she  said  that  she  would  not 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  179 

affix  the  seal  to  it,  and  that  she  had  a  mind  to  send  both 
the  book  and  the  scribe  who  assisted  in  preparing  it  to  the 
Shah.  The  scribe  was  a  Persian  mullah,  and  feared  to  do 
anything  more  in  the  matter.  The  printer,  however,  was 
more  courageous  and  persistent.  The  subject  was  finally 
referred  to  the  minister  of  science,  who  said  that  he  would 
affix  the  seal  provided  any  mujtaheed  of  Tehran  would 
give  his  written  approval  of  the  publication.  The  man- 
uscript having  been  taken  to  one  of  the  mujtaheeds,  he 
examined  the  work  and  discovered  the  expression  "  Jesus 
the  Son  of  God.^'  This  he  declared  to  be  blasphemy  and 
opposed  to  the  teaching  of  Islam.  Another  judge  of  the 
religious  law  was  more  liberal,  and  wrote  to  the  minis- 
ter that  as  Mohammedans  acknowledged  Jesus  to  be  a 
prophet,  it  would  be  lawful  to  print  any  book  which 
honored  him.  On  receiving  this  note  and  the  usual  fee, 
the  seal  was  attached  to  the  manuscript  and  the  work 
was  put  into  the  hands  of  the  printer.  But  these  nego- 
tiations and  examinations  were  protracted  through  the 
year,  so  that  the  work  was  not  printed  and  bound  until 
the  spring  of  1878. 

In  the  spring  of  1877,  Mr.  Potter  began  the  transla- 
tion of  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress,  Lazar  began  the 
preparation  of  a  geography  in  Persian,  and  Mr.  Bassett 
arranged  to  supervise  a  translation  of  the  Gospel  by 
Matthew  into  the  Gaghattai  Turkish.  Information  hav- 
ing been  received  that  reinforcements  for  the  mission 
would  reach  Persia  in  October,  Mr.  Potter  volunteered 

10 


180  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

to  meet  them  at  the  Caspian  port  and  escort  them  to 
Tehran.  He  left  the  capital  on  the  3d  of  October,  go- 
ing to  Mashhade  Sar,  a  port  of  the  Persian  Caspian  coast. 
The  plague  had  now  nearly  disappeared  from  Rasht,  but 
there  was  no  communication  with  the  place,  and  pas- 
sengers on  steamers  bound  for  Persia  were  obliged  to 
land  at  other  places.  He  remained  in  Mashhade  Sar 
twelve  days  awaiting  the  party.  The  steamer  having 
made  a  second  trip,  and  no  information  having  been  re- 
ceived from  them,  he  thought  it  best  to  go  to  Baku, 
thinking  to  meet  the  party  there.  He  says :  "  We 
reached  Mashhade  Sar  October  9th.  On  the  12th  the 
steamer  arrived,  and  it  was  ascertained  from  the  cap- 
tain that  the  boat  did  not  run  to  Baku,  but  to  Cape 
Apscheron,  about  three  hours  above  Baku,  and  further 
that  there  was  a  strict  quarantine  at  tlmt  point,  a  very 
unpleasant  place  to  go  through.  As  the  captain  very 
kindly  offered  his  services  to  forward  letters  and  mes- 
sages to  Baku,  and  to  bring  the  party  to  Mashhade  Sar, 
I  concluded  to  take  the  captain's  advice  and  send  word 
to  the  party  to  come  on  to  Mashhade  Sar,  and  myself  to 
remain  at  that  point.  After  waiting  twelve  days  the 
steamer  again  came  around,  and  the  captain  not  being 
able  to  get  any  information  of  the  American  party,  I 
concluded  to  go  to  Apscheron,  with  the  intention  of 
trying  to  go  through  quarantine  and  proceed  to  Baku 
myself. 

"Leaving  Mashhade  Sar  October  24th,  nine  hours' 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  181 

run  brought  us  to  Aschurada,  and  thence  to  Apscheron, 
where  we  arrived  on  the  27th,  and  I  concluded  to  go 
into  quarantine.  My  baggage  was  duly  disinfected  by  a 
vapor  of  carbolic  acid,  and  my  money  washed  with  some 
chemicals,  and  I  took  up  my  quarters  in  the  summer 
tent  with  a  dozen  narrow  bedsteads.  The  next  day 
(October  28)  the  Astrakan  steamer  came  in,  bringing 
the  expected  party  and  releasing  me  from  quarantine,  to 
my  inexpressible  delight.  I  immediately  re-embarked 
on  the  steamer,  along  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Scott  and  Miss 
Schenck,  on  our  way  to  Tehran,  where  we  arrived  Friday 
night,  November  9,  1877." 

The  route  by  Mash  hade  Sar  crosses  the  highest  regions 
of  the  Elburz  Mountains  and  passes  near  the  lofty  peak 
of  Damavaud.  The  pass  is  in  many  places  very  precipi- 
tous, but  is  fairly  passable  by  the  roadway  which  in  late 
years  has  been  constructed  by  the  order  of  the  Shah. 
The  borders  of  the  Caspian  are  here,  as  at  Easht,  a 
dense  jungle  and  noted  for  malaria.  In  the  summer  and 
early  autumn  it  is  considered  unsafe  for  Europeans  to  re- 
main long  in  this  region.  Mr.  Potter  was  taken  ill  with 
chills  and  fever  on  the  return,  and  did  not  recover  until 
after  several  months. 

In  the  arrangements  of  the  missionary  work  Miss 
Schenck  was  associated  with  Miss  Bassett  in  the  super- 
vision of  the  girls'  school,  and  Mr.  Scott  preached  in 
English  at  the  residence  of  Col.  Smith,  where  for  two 
winters  the  service  of  the  Church  of  England  had  been 


182  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

read  by  some  one  of  the  English  residents.  The  service 
was  discontinued,  as  usual,  in  the  spring,  and  Mr.  Scott 
gave  his  attention  to  the  study  of  the  Persian. 

About  this  time  our  religious  services  were  attended 
by  many  Baubes.  One  of  them  was  a  very  persistent 
caller,  and  brought  to  me  several  copies  of  the  writings 
of  the  Baub  of  Akka.  But  in  time  he  became  very  in- 
dignant that  we  did  not  accept  the  tenets  of  the  sect, 
and  charged  that  Christian  teachers  were  as  obstinate 
as  Jews  and  Mohammedans,  and  contended  that  all  who 
rejected  tlie  clear  testimony  furnished  by  the  Baub  ought 
to  be  put  to  death.  There  is  in  Tehran  a  representative 
or  vakiel  of  the  Baub.  He  looks  after  the  interests  of 
the  sect  in  Persia,  receives  the  communications  of  his 
superior  in  Syria  and  superintends  the  distribution  of  the 
messages  and  the  preachers  and  the  remittance  of  funds. 
This  man  called  upon  us  at  the  mission-premises.  He 
appeared  to  be  a  man  of  about  sixty  years  of  age.  He  is 
very  corpulent  and  stout  and  is  closely  shaven.  He  was 
very  desirous  that  we  should  listen  to  him,  but  his  dis- 
course was  highly  figurative  and  mystical.  The  princi- 
pal points  which  he  attempted  to  show  were  that  the 
divine  Person  has  always  been  manifested  in  the  world 
since  the  creation.  The  manifestation  was  in  the  prophets, 
and  later  in  Jesus  Christ  and  Mohammed.  The  Baub, 
he  claimed,  is  the  last  or  latest  revelation  of  Deity. 
A  month  later  he  called  again,  bringing  his  son-in-law, 
a  resident  of  Savah.    The  vakieFs  name  is  Hajah  Mullah 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  183 

Ismael.  His  visit  was  preceded  by  a  servant  bearing  on 
a  tray  a  present  of  rose-water,  pomegranates  and  figs. 
The  conversation  of  Ismael  was  of  the  same  essential 
character  as  that  of  the  previous  visitor.  It  is  indeed 
strange  that  thes.e  people  should  risk  so  much  for  so 
absurd  a  delusion.  The  Baub  himself  was  once  a  resi- 
dent of  Tehran.  His  adherents  have  been  moved  with 
a  zeal  worthy  of  a  better  cause.  The  profession  of  the 
tenets  of  the  sect  is  severely  punished,  in  many  cases 
with  cruel  torture  and  death. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Departure  of  Mr.  Potter  for  America — Departure  of  Mr.  Bassett  for 
Mashhad — Proposed  Translation  of  the  Gospel  of  Matthew — 
Colporteurs  and  Books  for  Mashhad — City  and  People — Fanatical 
Character  of  the  Pilgrims  and  Mullahs — The  Jews  of  Mashhad 
— Skeptics — Success  of  the  Book-Agents  Hosein  and  Daiid — 
Sequel  of  the  Work  in  Mashhad — Book-D^pot  and  Colportage— 
Mirza  Daiid — His  Work — Return  to  Tehran — Captive  Geor- 
gians of  Abasabad — Purchase  of  Premises  in  Tehran — Titles  to 
Eeal  Estate — Persecution  of  the  Teacher  in  Karaghan — Sup- 
posed Secular  Authority  of  Missionaries— Persecutions  in  Ram- 
adan— Journey  of  Mr.  Bassett  to  Hamadan — Visits  Karaghan— 
The  Armenian  Settlement — Visit  of  Elders — Preaching — Dese- 
cration of  the  Sabbath — The  Priest  of  Bargoshad — School — 
Journey  by  Night — A  Village  in  Need — Appeal  for  the  Sick — 
Arrival  in  Hamadan — Visit  of  the  Jews — Their  Wants — Jcavs 
Baptized — Audience  with  the  Governor — Summer  Work — Jews 
in  Tajreesh — Marriage  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Potter — His  Return  to 
Persia — The  Press — New  Premises  Occupied  by  the  Girls'  School 
— Sickness  of  Mrs.  Scott — Return  of  Mr.  Scott  and  Family  to 
America— His  Death  and  Character — Persecution  of  Jews  in 
Hamadan — Orders  of  Persian  Officers — Work  in  Tehran — Divis- 
ion of  Bible- Work — Return  of  Mr.  Bassett  to  the  United  States 
— Sickness  by  the  Way — Work  in  London — Summary  of  the 
Work  in  Eastern  Persia. 

TN  February,  1878,  Mr.  Potter  left   Tehran  for  the 
UDited  States,  going  by  post  to   Tabriz  and  TIflls, 
thence  by  Pote  and  the  continent. 

184 


Shrine  of  Reza. 


Page  18.1 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  187 

Mr.  Bassett  had  been  authorized  by  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  to  make  a  translation  of  Mat- 
thew's Gospel  into  the  Takah  dialect  of  the  Turkmans, 
sometimes  called  the  Gaghattai.  He  left  Tehran  in  the 
month  of  April,  going  to  Mashhad  with  a  view  to  the 
introduction  of  the  Scriptures  there,  and  for  the  purpose 
of  completing  the  arrangements  made  with  the  Bible 
Society  for  translating.  Mechail  and  Carepet  were  to 
accompany  him  as  colporteurs.  Several  boxes  of  books 
were  sent  on  by  caravan  with  these  men  as  far  as  to 
Shah  Rud.  The  missionary  followed  later  by  chapar, 
overtaking  the  colporteurs  and  caravan,  according  to 
appointment,  at  that  place.  All  caravans  were  escorted 
from  this  point,  a  distance  of  four  days'  travel,  by  a 
company  of  soldiers,  this  part  of  the  route  having  long 
been  considered  unsafe,  owing  to  the  raids  of  the  Turk- 
mans. A  lengthy  account  of  this  journey  has  been 
given  in  another  volume,  and  need  not  be  repeated 
here. 

No  place  in  Persia  is  so  sacred  to  the  Sheah  as  INIash- 
had,  for  here  is  the  grave  of  the  only  Imam  buried  in 
that  kingdom.  It  has  been  called  the  ''  holy,"  in  honor 
of  the  eighth  Imam,  who  was  interred  here.  There  is  at 
all  times  a  large  number  of  pilgrims  in  the  city  from 
every  Mohammedan  country  in  Asia.  It  might  be 
thought  that  so  noted  a  place  would  exhibit  the  high- 
est type  of  Oriental  architecture,  but,  the  shrine  of  Reza 
excepted,  there  is  nothing  noteworthy  in  the  city.     The 


188  PERSIA:   EASTERN  MISSION. 

streets  are  narrow,  crooked  and  filthy,  the  central  ave- 
nue alone  excepted.  Whatever  attempt  has  been  made 
in  the  way  of  building  and  decoration  appears  to  have 
been  exhausted  on  the  shrine  of  Reza ;  but  of  this  noth- 
ing is  visible  to  the  traveler  entering  the  city  or  to  one 
without  the  walls  of  the  shrine,  except  the  gold-tiled 
dome  and  lofty  minarets.  The  broad  avenue  leading  to 
the  mosques  called  Reza  is  crowded  with  markets  and 
a  motley  throng  of  rough  and  fierce-looking  people,  in 
which  the  dervishes  are  most  conspicuous.  As  many  of 
this  throng  of  pilgrims  as  desire  it  are  fed  from  the 
bounty  of  the  shrine.  The  six  hundred  pounds  of  rice 
furnished  daily  by  the  mosque  w^ould  seem  to  be  a  small 
allowance  for  the  crowd,  the  guards  and  priests. 

This  did  not  seem  to  be  the  safest  place  for  missionary 
work,  but  there  could  be  no  question  as  to  the  need  of 
the  people  and  the  certainty  of  an  audience.  The  mul- 
lahs were  said  to  be  a  dangerous  set  of  fellows.  The 
crowd  that  filled  the  streets  was  to  all  appearance  equally 
desperate  and  fanatical.  Adoration  of  Reza  was  the 
popular  act,  whatever  the  secret  sentiments  of  the  people 
may  have  been.  The  dervishes  were  many  and  of  all 
orders,  but  the  wandering  and  beggarly  element  seemed 
to  predominate.  Yet  neither  the  missionary  nor  the 
colporteurs  were  molested.  The  colporteurs  entered  the 
city  several  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  missionary,  and 
paid  duty  on  their  books  at  the  custom-house  in  Script- 
ures.    In  a  few  days  they  sold  all  the  books  they  had 


Dervish. 


Page  189. 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  191 

brought  with  them,  and  they  received  orders  from  Jews 
for  two  more  loads.  These  were  immediately  ordered 
from  TehraD.  But  the  colporteurs  desired  to  leave  the 
city  with  the  missionary,  for  they  feared  to  remain  after 
his  departure  and  dared  not  leave  the  place  alone.  He 
therefore  accompanied  them  a  day^s  journey,  and  put 
them  in  charge  of  a  caravan  bound  for  Tehran.  The 
people  who  resorted  to  the  colporteurs  most  of  all  were 
Jews,  for  there  were  no  Armenians  or  Christians  in  the 
city.  It  has  been  reported  that  the  mullahs  have  vowed 
that  no  Armenians  or  other  non-Mohammedans  shall 
reside  in  the  place ;  for  they  say,  "  It  would  be  a  dis- 
honor to  our  shrine  and  holy  city  to  permit  any  'in- 
fidels'to  live  within  the  sacred  precincts.''  They  seem 
to  have  acted  on  this  principle  many  years  ago,  when  * 
they  raided  the  Jewish  quarter,  killing  some  thirty-five 
Jews  and  giving  the  balance  of  the  colony  the  alterna- 
tive of  the  Koran  or  death.  The  Jews  were  the  princi- 
pal purchasers  of  both  Hebrew  and  Persian  Scriptures. 
Many  of  the  books  were  bought  for  the  use  of  the  Jews 
of  this  city,  and  many  to  be  carried  to  Herat  and  settle- 
ments of  Jews  in  Turkistan.  The  condition  of  this 
remnant  of  Israel  is  sad  to  contemplate.  They  have 
been  forced  to  deny  the  religion  of  their  fathers.  The 
worship  of  God  after  the  law  of  Israel  is  observed  in 
secret  if  at  all.  Some  of  this  people  manifested  intense 
interest  in  religious  matters,  and  came  for  inquiry  and 

*1838. 


192  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

discussion.  It  was  evident  that  even  in  this  remote 
quarter  of  the  world  .some  of  this  people  were  not  lack- 
ing in  current  objections  to  the  Scriptures.  Two  Jews 
desired  to  meet  the  missionary  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
sidering the  Messiahship  of  Jesus.  One  of  the  first 
questions  proposed  was  how  the  genealogical  tables  given 
by  Matthew  and  Luke  could  be  reconciled.  The  Jews, 
however,  were  not  the  only  parties  who  manifested  deep 
interest  in  the  work  of  the  missionary  and  seemed  to 
give  encouragement  for  effort  in  this  city.  Some  of  the 
Mohammedans  were  apparently  dissatisfied  with  the 
prevalent  faith  and  forms  of  worship.  Here  were  the 
extremes  of  fanaticism  and  unbelief.  One  man,  whose 
name  and  place  should  be  suppressed  for  his  protection, 
who  had  been  to  Constantinople  and  had  made  the  pil- 
grimage to  Makkah,  and  seen  all  of  Islam,  yet  said,  "  I 
do  not  keep  the  fast,  and  I  am  not  afraid  of  being  defiled 
by  Christians,  but  I  must  pretend  to  be  a  good  Moham- 
medan, which  I  am  not,  for  the  sake  of  my  wife,  who 
is  the  daughter  of  a  sayed.''  Another  of  high  rank  said, 
"  The  people  of  this  city  are  not  sincere  Mohammedans ; 
many  are  disgusted  with  the  shams  and  tricks  perpetrated 
by  the  mullahs  of  Persia."  Such  were  the  openings  for 
Christian  labor  here  that  Hosein  Ale  of  Tehran  was 
ordered  from  that  city  to  remain  in  Mashhad  during  the 
year.  He  wrote  a  few  weeks  after  his  arrival  that  he 
could  do  much  more  in  the  way  of  selling  books  here 
than  he  could  do  in  the  capital.     He  ordered  a  good 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  193 

supply  of  the  Scriptures,  which  was  forwarded  to  him 
iu  due  time. 

A  Jew  of  Mashhad  by  the  name  of  Daiid  was  here 
employed  by  Mr.  Bassett  to  assist  in  the  work  of  the 
proposed  translation.  His  boyhood  and  youth  had  been 
spent  among  the  Turkmans  of  Ahal  and  Merv.  In 
later  years  he  had  lived  among  the  tribes  as  doctor  and 
merchant.  He  remained  in  Tehran  several  months,  and 
on  completion  of  the  translation  returned  to  Mashhad. 
On  the  return  of  Hosein  to  the  capital  Daiid  was  em- 
ployed as  a  colporteur,  and  later  as  a  book-agent,  in 
which  capacity  he  has  served  until  the  present  time, 
having  charge  of  the  book-supply  for  Mashhad. 

The  proposed  translation  was  completed  in  1879,  and 
printed  in  1880  by  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society, 
and  a  supply  of  the  books  was  sent  to  Mashhad.  These 
with  other  Scriptures  in  Turkish,  Persian  and  Hebrew 
have  been  sent  to  the  country  of  the  Turkmans  and 
to  Herat,  and  to  the  people  on  the  eastern  border  of 
Persia. 

The  missionary  returned  to  Tehran  over  the  route  by 
which  he  had  come,  reaching  that  city  on  the  29th  of 
May.  In  the  account  of  this  journey  special  mention  is 
made  of  the  colony  of  Georgians  living  in  Abasabad. 
Being  Christians  by  their  antecedents  and  at  heart,  they 
naturally  excite  the  sympathies  of  other  Christians. 
Like  the  Jews  of  Mashhad,  they  have  been  compelled 
in  the  course  of  time  to  profess  Islam.    Their  condition, 


194  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

both  religious  and  secular,  seems  to  be  all  the  more  de- 
plorable when  we  consider  from  what  they  have  fallen 
and  what  they  have  suffered.  The  priest  of  the  colony, 
though  ostensibly  a  mullah,  desired  that  efforts  should 
be  made  in  behalf  of  his  people.  But  labors  for  their 
good  must  be  of  a  radical  nature.  There  seems  to  be  no 
hope  of  permanent  benefit  to  them  except  in  their  re- 
moval, for  they  are  helpless  in  the  midst  of  Moham- 
medans, and  are  isolated  from  all  the  Christian  colonies. 
During  the  summer  negotiations  were  entered  into  for 
the  purchase  of  premises  for  the  mission  in  Tehran. 
The  purchase  seemed  to  be  necessary  for  many  reasons. 
Persian  houses  require  a  continual  expenditure  of  funds 
in  the  way  of  repairs,  and  little  hope  can  be  entertained 
that  the  owner  of  the  property  will  ever  make  these 
repairs  according  to  agreement.  He  is  usually  in  great 
need  of  funds,  and  nothing  can  be  done  with  him  with- 
out payment  of  a  large  part  of  the  rental  in  advance. 
Having  obtained  this,  he  is  quite  sure  that  his  tenant 
will  make  the  repairs  ratlier  than  see  the  roof  fall  in  or 
leave  the  premises  and  lose  the  advance  payment.  In 
the  growth  of  the  city  there  was  a  demand  for  houses, 
and  the  price  of  real  estate  was  rapidly  advancing.  The 
best  locations  and  best  opportunities  for  the  purchase  of 
property  were  lost  in  those  early  days  for  the  lack  of  the 
necessary  funds.  Some  small  purchases  were  made  for 
a  chapel  and  schools,  but  these  were  not  at  any  time 
thought  to  be  or  designed  to  be  the  permanent  locations 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  195 

to  be  occupied  by  the  mission  families.  It  had  been  the 
wish  of  the  mission  to  purchase  land  near  the  Casveen 
gate,  so  as  to  be  near  the  Armenian  colony  in  that  quar- 
ter, but  the  lack  of  funds  and  the  unsettled  state  of  the 
title  to  vacant  lands  in  that  vicinity  made  such  purchase 
impossible  or  inexpedient.  Purchase  here  being  im- 
practicable, the  opportunities  presented  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  city  should  have  been  seized,  but  these  oc- 
curred during  the  years  of  the  greatest  financial  embar- 
rassment of  the  Board  in  New  York,  and  could  not, 
therefore,  be  taken  advantage  of.  The  property  now 
bought  was  situated  in  the  district  known  as  the  Shim- 
ron  gate,  and  on  the  western  side  of  the  king^s  garden, 
Lala  Zar,  and  the  roofs  of  the  houses  commanded  a 
view  of  the  garden.  The  property  was  owned  by  a 
European  officer  of  the  king's  army ;  the  buildings 
were  erected  for  his  own  use.  One  inducement  to  this 
purchase  was  the  promise  of  a  recognition  of  the  trans- 
fer by  the  Persian  Foreign  Office,  which  would  be  an 
important  concession  to  the  mission.  It  was  felt  that 
the  premises  were  not  all  that  were  needed,  but  they 
were  well  located,  gave  room  for  present  needs  and  were 
ready  for  immediate  occupancy,  saving  the  loss  of  time 
required  to  build.  But,  more  than  all,  they  were  as  ex- 
tensive as  the  funds  of  the  mission  would  permit  them 
to  purchase.  The  buildings  ready  for  occupancy  were 
three,  and  furnished  accommodations  for  the  girls^  school 
and  two   families.     They  readily  rented  for  three  hun- 


196  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

dred  tomans,  or  six  hundred  dollars,  which  was  twelve 
per  cent,  on  the  price  paid  to  purchase  them.  On  exam- 
ination it  was  found  that  it  would  require  some  action  by 
the  authorities  to  perfect  the  title.  The  completion  of  these 
formalities  was  not  effected  until  the  autumn.  The  deeds 
were  finally  recognized  by  a  mujtaheed  and  sealed  at  the 
Foreign  Office.  A  person  unaccustomed  to  the  transfer 
of  property  in  Persia  can  hardly  realize  the  difficulties 
which  attend  such  transfer.  The  possession  of  all  the 
deeds  from  the  first  sale  is  thought  to  be  necessary  as 
evidence  of  title.  A  registry  of  conveyances  should  be 
kept  by  every  mujtaheed  who  takes  the  acknowledg- 
ments, but  the  greater  part  of  these  papers  are  never 
put  on  record.  The  land  now  purchased  comprised 
about  four  thousand  seven  hundred  square  yards.  Of 
the  three  houses  on  it,  one  was  well  adapted  to  the  wants 
of  the  girls'  school. 

During  the  summer  the  teacher  in  the  Armenian  vil- 
lage of  Tchenoktche,  Karaghan,  met  with  bitter  opposi- 
tion from  Mussulmans.  A  lawsuit  had  been  begun  by  a 
Mohammedan  claimant  of  the  village  against  the  Ar- 
menian owner.  The  teacher,  being  an  Armenian  and 
having  entered  the  village  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Armenian  owner,  became  an  object  of  enmity  to  the 
new  claimant.  It  is  probable  that  the  opposition  was 
instigated  and  encouraged  by  some  of  the  Armenians  of 
the  neighboring  villages.  Orders  were  obtained  from 
the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  requiring  redress  of  the 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  197 

wrongs  done  to  the  young  man  and  that  he  should  be 
protected ;  but  the  order  was  entirely  disregarded  by  the 
Mohammedan  landlord.  A  party  of  six  horsemen  rode 
into  the  village,  seized  the  teacher  and  forced  him  to  go 
with  them  to  another  village.  He  escaped  at  night 
and  fled  to  the  governor  of  the  district,  who  protected 
him  and  procured  for  him  a  safe  return  to  his  school. 
This  young  man  was  Ohaues,  now  for  several  years  con- 
nected with  the  mission  in  Hamadan. 

The  missionary  in  Persia  is  frequently  constrained  to 
intercede  with  the  authorities  for  the  protection  of  the 
native  Christians.  Owing  to  the  influence  of  the  for- 
eign legations,  the  power  of  the  missionary  in  secular 
matters  is  very  greatly  overrated  by  the  natives,  and 
any  refusal  by  him  to  give  assistance  is  taken  by  them 
as  evidence  of  ill-will  on  his  part  or  of  disinclination  to 
help  them  out  of  their  troubles,  which  often  arise  be- 
cause they  are  Christians  or  at  least  are  favorably  dis- 
posed toward  missionaries. 

A  Mohammedan  once  came  to  the  missionary  in  Teh- 
ran bringing  a  decree  of  an  eminent  mujtaheed  of  Ispa- 
han setting  over  to  him  certain  lands  near  that  city. 
The  decree  had  been  resisted  by  the  authorities  of  Ispa- 
han. The  man  desired  the  missionary  to  command  H. 
B.  M.  minister  to  issue  an  order  for  the  restoration  of 
the  property  agreeably  to  the  judgment  of  the  mujta- 
heed. The  man  argued  thus:  The  missionary  is  a 
Christian  mujtaheed ;  he  has  the  same  authority  with  his 


198  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

own  people  that  a  mujtaheed  of  Islam  has  with  Moham- 
medans, and  the  decree  of  the  mujtaheed  is  sufficient 
evidence  of  the  equities  of  the  case. 

With  the  first  movement  of  the  Jews  of  Hamadan 
toward  Christianity,  whether  from  true  or  improper 
motives,  there  appeared  also  the  spirit  of  persecution. 
The  Mohammedan  authorities  and  their  subordinates 
were  used  as  the  tools  of  the  opposition.  They  gladly 
favored  one  party  or  another  as  they  perceived  the  op- 
portunity to  extort  money  from  them.  In  this  state  of 
affairs  it  seemed  to  be  important  that  the  missionary  in 
charge  of  the  work  in  Hamadan  should  go  to  that  city, 
agreeably  to  the  request  of  the  pastor  of  the  native 
church  and  of  the  people.  Mr.  Bassett  therefore  left  Teh- 
ran for  that  city  on  the  24th  of  October,  going  by  post. 
After  reaching  Bevaron,  a  post-station  on  the  pass  of 
the  Karaghan  Mountains,  and  nearly  midway  between 
Tehran  and  Hamadan,  he  crossed  the  mountains  to  the 
northern  side  and  to  the  Armenian  settlement  compris- 
ing the  villages  of  Lar,  Bargashod,  Tchenoktche, 
Yange  Kallah  and  Zambar.  In  the  first  are  sixty  fam- 
ilies ;  in  the  second,  forty ;  in  the  third,  fifty ;  in  the 
fourth,  twenty-five ;  and  in  the  fifth,  fifteen.  They  are 
near  together,  no  one  of  them  being  more  than  four 
miles  from  Lar.  Together  they  may  contain  a  popula- 
tion of  one  thousand  Armenians,  besides  Mussulmans. 
These  people  refer  the  origin  of  their  colony  to  the  cap- 
tives brought  by  Shah  Abas  to  Ispahan,  and  in  particu- 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  199 

lar  to  the  portion  of  the  captive  colony  brought  from 
Utch  Kallesia.  But  they  have  received  accessions  from 
other  places.  The  first  company  started  from  Julfa  near 
Ispahan,  and  led  for  several  years  a  roving  life,  settling 
at  Savah,  Tehran,  Kazas  and  Kamara.  They  say  that 
pure  air,  arable  land  and  a  copious  spring  of  water  at 
Bargashod,  furnishing  water  sufficient  for  the  tillage  of 
five  villages,  were  the  chief  attractions.  Several  years 
ago  a  large  part  of  the  colony  went  to  the  Karadag  in 
Russia,  but,  becoming  dissatisfied,  they  returned  to  Kar- 
aghan.  These  villages  are  all  in  a  deplorable  state  of 
ruin.  In  three  of  them  there  are  churches,  but  part  of 
the  walls  and  roofs  had  fallen,  so  that  they  could  not  be 
occupied. 

The  further  account  of  this  settlement  and  this  visit 
of  the  missionary  may  best  be  given,  for  the  most  part, 
in  the  words  of  his  report.  He  wrote  :  '^  Our  school- 
teachers had  been  sent  to  the  village  of  Tchenoktche. 
I  therefore  w^nt  immediately  to  that  place.  On  Sab- 
bath morning  the  elders  made  a  formal  call.  The  time 
was  spent  in  religious  conversation.  They  professed  to 
accept  our  statement  of  Christian  doctrine.  They 
urged  their  need  of  schools  and  preachers,  but  fear  of 
the  priest  and  of  the  suspicion  of  Protestant  tendencies 
prevented  any  very  decisive  recognition  on  their  part. 
They  evidently  desired  schools,  but  not  a  religious  serv- 
ice, and  made  no  effort  to  gather  the  people  for  public 

worship  on  the  Sabbath.     The  men  w^ent  off  to  the  fields 
11 


200  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

to  work  or  to  visit  in  other  villages.  Near  sunset  squads 
of  men  and  droves  of  donkeys  Avere  seen  coming  down 
the  mountain.  I  determined  to  raise  a  congregation, 
and  therefore,  calling  the  people  nearest  to  me,  I  went 
on  to  the  little  hill  in  the  centre  of  the  village,  where 
there  was  an  open  space  and  a  spring  of  water,  and  call- 
ing also  the  people  who  were  coming  into  town,  I  soon 
had  a  congregation  such  as  the  village  could  afford. 
The  company  of  tax-gatherers  who  at  that  time  came 
along  the  way  gave  variety  to  the  costume  of  the  crowd 
by  the  red  and  white  shawls  tied  around  their  heads  and 
by  the  knives  and  pistols  stuck  in  their  girdles.  On 
Monday  morning  I  went  up  to  Bargashod,  three  miles 
distant.  The  only  Armenian  priest  of  the  settlement 
resides  here.  He  appeared  to  be  very  friendly,  and  it 
was  arranged  that  he  should  open  a  school  in  his  house ; 
but  later  he  wrote  that  some  of  the  members  of  his  flock 
had  charged  him  with  having  sold  the  people  to  the  Prot- 
estants, and  demanding,  as  a  condition  on  which  alone  the 
arrangements  could  be  carried  into  effect,  that  he  should 
divide  his  bribe  with  them.  As,  however,  he  had  re- 
ceived nothing,  a  division  was  not  possible.  After  hav- 
ing gone  to  each  village  in  succession  and  preached  to 
as  many  people  as  could  be  gotten  together,  I  started  on 
my  return  to  the  post-road,  said  to  be  about  four  fara- 
sangs  distant,  intending  to  reach  that  day  the  post-house 
at  Nobaron.  Going  southward  from  Lar,  I  passed  the 
village  of  Zambar.     The  villagers  had  seen  our  colpor- 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  201 

teurs  in  former  years.  Crossing  the  Karaghan  range, 
it  was  dnsk  before  we  reached  the  foot  of  the  mountain. 
In  a  short  time  it  was  dark  and  raining.  Our  chapar 
shagird  lost  his  way.  We  rode  until  eleven  o'clock  at 
night,  when  the  barking  of  a  dog  enabled  us  to  find  a 
village.  One  of  the  horses  fell  into  a  ditch,  throwing 
his  rider,  whose  foot  was  fast  in  the  stirrup.  Dismount- 
ing, I  held  the  horse  while  the  man  extricated  himself. 
Arriving  at  the  village  gate,  we  were  obliged  to  give  an 
account  of  ourselves  before  the  people  would  open  for 
us.  Our  men  made  all  necessary  explanations.  It 
was  therefore  soon  known  that  a  ^Frangee'  was  near. 
Men  and  women  gathered  about  us,  and  much  was  said 
by  them  of  which  we  caught  a  few  expressions,  such  as 
these :  Good  men  these  are !  the  best  kind  of  a  millat 
(sect). — They  have  all  kinds  of  asbob  (machinery). — I 
want  some  medicine. — They  have  the  best  doctors. — Are 
you  a  doctor  ?  A  special  plea  was  made  in  behalf  of  a 
very  sick  person  who  was  said  to  be  dying.  His  poor 
wife  insisted  that  I  must  be  a  doctor,  my  statement  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding,  and  that  I  could  cure  him 
even  if  I  were  not  a  doctor.  Leaving  the  company  at 
the  gate,  I  went  with  one  of  our  men  to  the  hut  of  the 
sick  man.     Here  I  found  a  Mussulman  doctor  wanting 

o 

antimony.  Several  children  were  lying  near  a  kursee, 
and  the  sick  man  lay  close  by  them.  The  matron  of 
the  hut,  greatly  concerned  for  her  husband,  disclosed  the 
wretchedness  of  the  situation  by  the  light  of  a  rag  soak- 


202  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

iDg  In  an  open  earthen  oil-lamp  which  she  held  in  her 
hand.  Doing  all  that  I  could  for  the  sick  man,  who 
did  not  seem  to  be  so  ill  as  represented,  I  departed,  fol- 
lowed by  the  blessings  of  the  wretched  people.  Taking 
a  guide  at  this  village,  after  an  hour's  ride  we  arrived 
at  the  post-house  in  Nobaron."  On  the  following  morn- 
ing the  missionary  resumed  the  journey  to  Hamadan. 

Arriving  in  that  city,  the  missionary  visited  the  Jew- 
ish quarter,  and  many  Jews  called  upon  him.  A  large 
number  of  the  people  seemed  inclined  to  Christianity, 
but  only  a  few  had  taken  any  positive  stand  in  relation 
to  it.  Some  thirty  Jews  called  upon  the  missionary  for 
consultation  with  reference  to  the  establishment  of  a  mis- 
sion among  them.  The  matter  was  fully  discussed. 
They  were  told  that  a  school  would  be  opened  for  them 
in  the  Jewish  quarter  as  soon  as  possible.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  priest  Shamoon  was  instructed  to  preach  among 
them,  which  he  was  himself  forward  to  do.  But  it  was 
impossible  to  give  any  assurance  that  missionaries  would 
be  sent  from  America  expressly  for  them.  The  matter 
of  their  appeal  to  the  British  society  was  openly  dis- 
cussed, and  they  were  told  that  the  American  mission 
would  not  attempt  to  compete  with  any  other  society  or 
appear  as  a  rival.  They  replied  that  the  petition  had 
been  sent  when  they  supposed  that  we  could  not  help 
them.  They  were  advised  to  attend  the  religious  serv- 
ices held  in  the  Armenian  church,  but  conducted  in  the 
Persian  language,  which  they  well  understood.     Three 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  203 

Jews  were  at  this  time  examined  by  the  elders  of  the 
church  and  the  missionary,  and  were  publicly  baptized 
aud  received  by  him  to  the  communion  in  the  church. 
In  the  examination  they  all  attributed  their  religious 
interest  to  the  labors  of  Shamoon.  Two  of  these  men, 
Dr.  Raheem  and  Hyim,  were  persons  of  intelligence 
and  influence.  The  governor  of  the  city  at  this  time 
was  the  Eelkhanah.  On  one  occasion  the  missionary  was 
given  audience  to  present  the  grievances  of  the  Jews, 
and  he  was  invited  to  dine  with  the  governor,  at  which 
time  that  officer  promised  to  protect  the  converts  and  to 
redress  any  wrong  done  them.  But  it  was  a  difficult 
matter  to  separate  present  complaints  from  old  feuds, 
and  as  yet  there  had  been  no  violence  offered  a  convert 
on  account  of  his  religious  convictions.  Six  Jews  had 
been  received  to  the  communion  before  the  close  of 
1879. 

During  the  summer  months  the  mission  remained  in 
the  village  of  Tajreesh.  Mr.  Bassett  was  engaged  in 
the  translation  work  with  Mirza  Daiid  of  Mashhad. 
Services  of  public  worship  were  here  conducted  in  Per- 
sian, and  were  attended  by  the  Mohammedans  and  Ar- 
menians. The  latter  were  from  the  villages  of  Darooz 
and  Vanak.  Although  not  permitted  to  attend  Protest- 
ant services  while  the  missionaries  officiated  in  or  near 
an  Armenian  village,  they  now  came  several  miles  to 
the  service,  and  escaped  the  observation  of  the  priest 
and  avoided  all  molestation.     A  few  Jews  from  the  city 


204  PERSIA  :   EASTERN  MISSIOX. 

of  Tehran  came  to  Tajreesh  and  attended  the  religious 
services  at  the  mission,  but  they  feared  the  Mohammed- 
ans and  sought  protection  in  the  neighborhood  of  tlie 
mission.  During  the  time  of  woi*ship  a  Mohammedan 
would  quietly  pull  a  Jew  from  a  bench  or  chair  and 
take  the  seat  himself.  For  so  long  a  time  have  the 
Jews  been  accustomed  to  such  treatment  that  they  sel- 
dom remonstrate. 

Mr.  Potter  married  Miss  Harriet  Riggs  at  her  home 
in  Xew  Jei*sey  on  the  1st  of  August,  1878,  and  with  his 
bride  returned  to  Tehran  in  the  following  Xovember, 
arriving  in  that  city  on  the  14th  of  that  month.  An 
appropriation  for  the  purchase  of  a  printing-press  and 
tvpe  had  been  made  by  the  annual  meeting  of  the  mis- 
sion in  the  autumn  of  1874.  The  press  was  now  bought 
by  Mr.  Potter,  and  with  the  press  the  necessary  outfit  for 
printing  by  the  lithographic  process.  Owing,  however, 
to  the  pressure  of  other  work  and  lack  of  suitable  build- 
ing, the  press  has  not  been  used.  Printing  has  been 
done  at  the  Mohammedan  presses  in  Tehran  as  far  as 
work  has  been  needed. 

Before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Potter  the  mission  returned 
to  the  city  from  Tajreesh,  and  entered  for  the  first  time 
the  premises  purchased  this  season  as  above  stated.  The 
or'irh'  school  was  removed  to  the  building  set  apart  for  it. 
Mr.  Scott  and  family  occupied  this  building  with  the 
ladies  in  charge  of  the  school.  The  instruction  was  in 
the  Armenian  tongue,  but  some  of  the  older  scholars 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  207 

studied  the  Persian.  Religious  services  were  conducted 
by  Miss  Bassett  in  the  Armenian  language.  There  was 
no  room  or  house  on  the  mission-premises  suitable  for  a 
chapel.  A  large  stable  was  therefore  overhauled  and 
plastered,  and  made  a  very  tidy  and  fair  room.  In  this 
the  congregation  of  Persians  assembled  on  Fridays  and 
Sabbaths  until  the  autumn  of  1883  and  the  completion 
of  a  larger  chapel. 

The  health  of  Mrs.  Scott  was  such  at  this  time  that 
it  was  thought  to  be  advisable  by  the  physicians  con- 
sulted that  she  should  return  to  America.  Mr.  Scott 
therefore  left  Tehran  on  the  27th  of  November.  He 
remained  some  weeks  in  Scotland  and  England.  The 
physicians  consulted  there  advised  quiet  and  rest.  This 
could  not  be  had  among  strangers,  and  the  party  there- 
fore hastened  home,  and  arrived  in  New  York  in  the 
following  March,  where,  after  a  brief  illness,  Mr.  Scott 
died  within  a  week  after  his  arrival.  Mr.  Scott  when 
he  came  to  Persia  was  reported  to  be  a  person  of  un- 
usually good  health.  His  robust  frame  seemed  to  justify 
his  statement  that  he  had  never  experienced  any  serious 
illness.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College  and 
Seminary,  and  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  good  class- 
ical scholar.  His  first  and  only  year  in  Persia  was  de- 
voted chiefly  to  the  study  of  the  Persian  language.  He 
rendered  good  service  by  preaching  in  English  and  by  per- 
forming some  secular  work.  He  did  not  remain  on  the 
field  long  enough  to  preach  in  the  Persian  language.    His 


208  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

death  was  felt  to  be  a  great  loss  to  the  mission,  for 
much  had  been  anticipated  from  his  promising  abilities. 
Early  in  the  winter  of  1879  great  excitement  was 
created  among  the  Jews  of  Hamadan  by  sj>ecial  efforts  on 
the  part  of  the  Jews  of  the  synagogues  to  prevent  Chris- 
tian Jews  from  entering  the  synagogues  and  baths  owned 
by  Jews.  The  governor  called  Eelkhanah  had  been 
recalled,  and  a  new  governor  appointed  who  favored  the 
old  party.  The  orders  of  the  Jewish  priests  forbidding 
the  sale  of  food  and  merchandise  to  the  converts  was 
confirmed  by  the  order  of  the  Persian  minister,  on  the 
ground  that  the  converts  could  purchase  in  other  places 
or  have  their  own  shops,  and  that,  as  they  could  have 
their  own  places  of  worship,  they  should  not  trespass 
upon  the  right  of  other  Jews  to  the  exercise  of  their 
own  religious  laws.  In  the  absence  of  tlie  minister  re- 
course was  had  to  the  Mustofe  al  Mamalake,  who  issued 
an  order  to  restrain  the  persons  opposing  tlie  converts,  and 
requiring  that  Christians  should  be  protected  and  |)ermitted 
to  enter  the  synagogue ;  but  the  order  was  disregarded  by 
the  local  authorities.  In  this  year  tiiere  was  opened  a 
school  for  Jews  in  Tehran,  as  has  been  stated.  A  thou- 
sand volumes  of  the  new  edition  of  the  Scriptures  in 
small  size  were  now  received  from  the  British  and  For- 
eign Bible  Society  by  way  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  col- 
porteurs were  immediately  sent  out  with  the  books.  In 
this  year  arrangements  were  discussed  for  the  division 
of  the  Bible- work  in  Persia  between  the  two  Bible  soci- 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  209 

eties,  the  British  and  Foreign  and  the  American  Bible 
Society.  It  was  proposed  that  the  former  should  supply 
the  southern  half  of  the  country,  and  the  latter  the  north- 
ern part.  Such  an  arrangement  was  carried  into  effect  in 
the  following  year.  Teachers  were  again  sent  to  the  Ar- 
menians of  the  Karaghan  Mountains,  the  translation 
of  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  into  the  dialect  of  the  Takah 
Turkmans  was  completed,  and  Mirza  Daiid  returned  to 
^lashhad. 

On  the  20th  of  August,  1879,  Mr.  Bassett  and  family 
left  Tehran  for  America,  having  been  in  Persia  for  eight 
years.  One  of  the  children  was  very  ill,  and,  owing  to 
the  heat  of  the  day,  the  party  were  obliged  to  travel  by 
night  over  the  plain  of  Tehran  and  to  the  pass  of  the 
Elburz.  The  post-road  to  Casveen  was  not  yet  com- 
pleted, and  the  journey  was  made  by  caravan.  Remain- 
ing in  Casveen  over  the  Sabbath,  they  left  early  on  Sunday 
evening  to  journey  by.  night,  but,  the  sick  child  becoming 
much  worse,  they  were  obliged  to  halt  and  return  to  Cas- 
veen. Being  ninety-two  miles  from  Tehran,  it  was  im- 
possible to  get  the  aid  of  a  European  physician.  In  this 
emergency  a  Mohammedan  doctor  was  called.  Although 
it  was  now  the  time  of  the  long  fast  of  Ramazan,  and 
he  declined  to  respond  to  the  call  of  native  Persians,  yet 
he  immediately  went  at  night  to  see  the  child  of  the 
missionary,  and  his  treatment  was  so  efficient  that  in 
two  days  the  party  were  able  to  journey,  being  supplied 
with  a  good  stock  of  medicines  prepared  by  the  doctor. 


210  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

The  little  patient  gradually  recovered,  but  was  not  en- 
tirely wel]  until  the  party  experienced  the  effect  of  the 
cold  climate  of  Europe.  Mr.  Bassett  remained  in  Lon- 
don during  the  autumn  and  part  of  the  winter  of  1880, 
superintending  the  publication  of  the  Takah  translation. 
In  February  the  party  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  United 
States,  where  they  remained  until  April,  1881. 

In  the  year  1879  there  were  in  Tehran,  connected 
with  the  mission,  two  regular  congregations,  two  places 
of  worship  and  three  schools.  There  were  thirty 
church-members  and  one  hundred  and  thirty  pupils  in 
the  schools  of  the  city.  The  church  in  Hamadau  num- 
bered thirty-two  members  and  about  sixty  attendants, 
with  a  school  of  thirty  pupils.  Schools  were  established 
in  Rasht  and  Karaghan  and  in  the  village  of  Darooz, 
and  the  work  of  Bible-distribution  was  carrried  on  upon 
the  eastern  border  of  Persia  from  Mashhad,  and  in  much 
of  Central  Persia  from  Tehran  and  Hamadan,  as  part 
of  the  regular  work  of  the  mission. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Schools — Marriages — Persecutions  in  Hamadan — Represented  to  the 
British  Minister — Yasse  Attar — Position  of  the  British  Minister 
— Reasons  for — Orders  of  the  Shah  touching  the  Attendance  of 
Mohammedans  at  the  Religious  Services  and  the  Instruction  of 
Mohammedans — Attendance  Prohibited  by  the  Missionary — Lib- 
erty of  Non-Mohammedans — Protestant  Village — Expediency  of 
forming  Christian  Villages — Mr.  Bruce  in  Hamadan — Arrival 
of  Mr.  Hawkes  in  Tehran — Bookroom  opened  in  Hamadan — 
Death  of  Agah  Jan — Mussulmans  Received  to  the  Church — Pro- 
posed Occupation  of  Hamadan — Visit  of  Missionaries  and  Mr. 
Whipple  to  Hamadan — Work  in  Hamadan — Division  of  the 
Bible- Work  in  Persia — Report  of  the  year  1880 — Girls'  School 
— Persecutions  in  Hamadan — Persecution  of  the  Pastor — Return 
of  Mr.  Bassett  and  Family — Dr.  W.  W.  Torrence— Voyage  on  the 
Caspian — Detention  at  Ashurada — Journey  to  Tehran — Changes 
in  the  Persian  Foreign  Office — Flight  of  Shamoon  to  Tehran — 
His  Return  to  Hamadan — Meeting  of  the  Persian  Mission — 
Division  of  the  Mission — Appointment  of  Mr.  Hawkes  to  Ham- 
adan— Consideration  of  the  Orders  of  the  Persian  Government — 
Copy  of  the  Action  taken  by  the  Mission  sent  to  the  British  Min- 
ister— Reply  of  the  Minister — Attendance  of  Mohammedans — 
Efforts  for  a  Modification  of  the  Orders — Refusal  of  the  British 
Minister  to  Interfere  for  a  Modification — Mission  Resolve  to  Close 
the  Chapel — Appeal  to  the  Persian  Foreign  Office  and  to  the 
Shah — Modification  granted  by  the  Shah — The  Chapel  Opened — 
Two  Missions  in  Hamadan — Mr.  Potter  Removes  to  the  Western 
Side  of  the  City — Dr.  Torrence  opens  a  Dispensary — Mirza 
Lazar  goes  to  Rasht — English  Services — School  for  Jews — 
Nurillah — Boarding-School — Services  of  Worship  and  Schools — 

211 


212  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

Miss  Bassett  Keturns  to  America — Protestant  Chapel  and  Ceme- 
tery— Eclipse  of  the  Sun. 

TN  January,  1880,  the  school  for  Jews  in  Tehran  was 
-*-  closed  for  lack  of  funds.  The  training-class  was 
dismissed.  Four  of  the  members  of  this  class  married, 
and  were  employed  as  teachers  or  colporteurs.  Caspar 
and  Carepet  married  daughters  of  Mechail.  The  young 
ladies  had  for  some  years  been  members  of  the  girls' 
school,  and  for  more  than  a  year  had  been  betrothed  to 
these  young  men,  in  accord  with  the  Armenian  custom. 

New  cases  of  persecution  arose  in  Hamadan,  and  Mr. 
Potter  represented  them  to  the  British  minister,  who 
directed  the  British  agent  in  that  city  to  inquire  into 
them,  and,  if  possible,  get  the  offenders  punished.  But 
he  declined  to  give  the  agent  any  general  directions  as 
to  the  protection  of  Jewish  converts.  In  the  month  of 
March  a  telegram  from  Hamadan  announced  that  the 
Jew  Yasse  Attar  had  been  severely  beaten  and  thrown 
into  prison,  and  that  nothing  had  been  done  for  him  or  for 
other  Jews  by  the  British  agent.  The  telegram  was  re- 
ferred to  the  British  minister,  who  replied  that  he  could 
not  interfere  officially,  but  would  speak  to  the  Sapr 
Salar  about  it.  No  promise  or  hope  of  redress  was 
offered  at  the  British  legation.  It  should  be  said,  in 
reference  to  the  position  taken  by  the  minister  on  this 
subject,  that  the  representatives  of  foreign  governments 
do  not  claim  to  have  any  right  to  interfere  officially  in 
behalf  of  the  subjects  of  the  Persian  government.    They 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  213 

can  act  in  such  cases  only  unofficially,  on  the  grounds 
of  personal  friendship  or  other  reason.  However,  utv- 
official  action  is  usually  sufficient  to  furnish  the  Persian 
authorities  with  all  the  cause  or  apology  which  they  need 
for  granting  the  request  of  a  representative  of  a  foreign 
court.  The  force  of  any  appeal  by  a  foreign  minister 
depends  very  much  upon  the  relations  of  his  govern- 
ment to  the  Shah  and  upon  his  own  standing  with  the 
Persian  authorities. 

On  April  2d  a  note  was  addressed  to  Mr.  Potter  by 
the  British  minister  which  stated,  in  substance,  that  it 
had  been  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Shah  that  of  late 
religious  meetings  held  on  the  mission-premises  had  been 
attended  by  Mohammedans,  and  that  he  had  received 
official  communication  on  the  subject  setting  forth  the 
objections  of  the  Shah's  government  to  religious  instruc- 
tion being  given  to  Mussulmans.  He  also  added  that 
*^  should  he  continue  in  the  course  complained  of,  the 
Persian  government  would  not  allow  him  to  reside 
here;'^  also  adding  that  the  police  had  received  ordei-s  to 
arrest  any  Mussulmans  who  may  attend  the  meetings. 
On  the  same  day  the  missionary  replied  to  the  commu- 
nication that  he  had  issued  orders  directing  that'  no  Mus- 
sulmans be  allowed  to  attend  the  religious  services  or 
schools.  As  a  compensation  for  this  restriction  touching 
Mohammedans  the  British  minister  said  that  he  had  ob- 
tained orders  with  reference  to  the  Jews  and  the  religious 
liberty  of  non-Mohammedans.     On  the  16th  of  Novem- 


214  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

ber  following  the  minister  obtained,  or  communicated,  an 
order  from  the  Persian  minister  addressed  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  Hamadan,  directing  that  the  Jews  who  have 
become  Christians  be  allowed  to  go  to  the  bath-house 
"  which  is  open  to  Armenians  and  Nestorians,"  and  in 
December  an  order  was  issued  by  the  same  Persian  of- 
ficer to  the  governor  of  Hamadan  declaring  expressly 
the  religious  liberty  of  all  non-Mohammedans  in  Persia. 
An  effort  was  now  made  to  concentrate  the  Protestant 
Armenians  in  one  village  called  Zard  Aub.  With  ref- 
erence to  this  Mr.  Potter  wrote  in  the  report  of  that 
year  as  follows  :  "  A  new  out-station  has  been  opened 
about  twenty-five  miles  from  Tehran,  and  an  attempt 
made  to  establish  a  Protestant  village  under  the  auspices 
of  the  elders  of  the  Tehran  church.  A  tentative  occu- 
pation was  begun  in  the  spring,  and  it  is  hoped  this 
place  will  prove  a  refuge  for  Christian  converts  where 
they  may  enjoy  the  quiet  exercise  of  their  religion  and 
be  secure  in  their  rights  as  tenants."  But  these  expec- 
tations were  disappointed  by  reason  of  the  unhealthful- 
ness  of  the  location,  and  after  much  sickness  and  several 
deaths  the  village  in  the  following  year  was  abandoned. 
With  reference  to  the  expediency  of  isolating  Christian 
converts  in  villages  exclusively  their  own  and  enjoying 
special  secular  advantages,  the  author  of  this  work 
would  here  express  no  judgment,  but  he  would  give  to 
his  readers,  especially  the  missionaries,  the  benefit  of  the 
statement  that  the  expediency  has   been  questioned    by 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  215 

missionaries  of  long  experience ;  and  there  are  examples 
of  such  villages  in  Persia  and  other  Mohammedan  coun- 
tries where  the  results  have  been  disastrous  rather  than 
beneficial  to  the  people  gathered  in  them.  The  question, 
however,  would  seem  to  be  one  which  must  be  deter- 
mined by  the  circumstances  in  which  the  people  are 
placed,  rather  than  by  any  general  rule.  It  would  seem 
to  be  safe,  however,  to  say  that  under  a  government 
habitually  and  notoriously  false  to  its  own  pledges  the 
less  the  missionary  has  to  do  with  the  secular  affairs, 
especially  the  rights  of  property  of  the  people,  the  bet- 
ter it  will  be  for  his  influence  with  all  classes,  and  so 
much  the  less  of  his  time  will  be  lost. 

Mr.  Bruce,  of  the  Church  Missionary's  mission  in 
Jul  fa,  visited  the  city  of  Haraadan  in  the  month  of 
November,  and  heard  representations  of  the  Jews  of 
that  place.  In  the  report  of  the  London  Society  for 
Promoting  Christianity  amongst  the  Jews  it  is  stated, 
in  substance,  that  the  representations  of  Mr.  Bruce  en- 
couraged that  society  to  project  a  mission  to  Hamadan 
expressly  for  the  Jews  of  that  city. 

On  the  4th  of  December,  1880,  Eev.  J.  W.  Hawkes 
arrived  in  Tehran,  having  been  appointed  to  the  mission 
in  the  capital  by  the  "  Board ''  in  New  York.  Mirza 
Ohanes  was  sent  to  open  a  bookroom  in  Hamadan,  the 
room  having  been  dispensed  with  now  for  several  years, 
owing;  to  the  little  amount  of  work  done  in  the  book- 
business  there.     Agah  Jan,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 


216  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

Jewish  converts,  died  in  November  of  this  year,  leaving 
his  family  in  very  destitute  circumstances,  and  aid  was 
given  them.  The  mission  in  Tehran  resolved  that  Mus- 
sulmans, applicants  for  church-membership,  should  be 
examined,  and  if  their  examination  proved  satisfactory 
they  should  be  received  into  the  Church.  Soon  after 
this  two  Mussulmans  were  examined  as  to  the  evidences 
of  their  faith  in  Christ,  and  one  of  the  number  was  re- 
ceived to  the  communion.  Proposals  were  made  in 
Tabriz  looking  to  the  occupation  of  Hamadan  by  some 
of  the  missionaries  of  the  former  city,  but  action  in  the 
matter  was  deferred.  The  members  of  the  mission  in 
Tehran,  in  company  with  Mr.  Whipple,  then  agent  of 
the  American  Bible  Society  in  Persia,  went  to  Hamadan. 
They  record  their  great  satisfaction  in  view  of  the  work 
in  that  city  and  their  reception  by  the  people.  They 
agreed  to  the  opening  of  a  school  among  the  Jews,  and 
engaged  Hyim  as  teacher  and  evangelist,  and  made  ar- 
rangements for  the  purchase  of  land  for  a  chapel  and 
cemetery.  The  congregation  at  the  time  was  stated  to 
consist  of  "  forty  men,  thirty  women  and  twenty  chil- 
dren— in  all  ninety  souls." 

The  American  Bible  Society  now  assumed  the  support 
of  the  colporteur  at  Mashhad  and  part  of  the  expenses 
of  the  agents  in  Tehran  and  Hamadan.  Mr.  Bruce  now 
came  to  Tehran  in  the  interest  of  the  British  and  For- 
eign Bible  Society,  making  a  division  and  sale  of  the 
books  of  that  society  in  Tehran  ;  and  having  completed 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  217 

these  arraugenients,  he  returned  to  Ispahan.  Thus  the 
two  Bible  societies  were  fully  installed  in  Persia,  each 
one  having  a  general  agent — one,  Mr.  Whipple,  residing 
in  Tabriz,  and  the  other,  Mr.  Bruce,  resident  in  Julfa 
(Ispahan).  These  facts  have  value  as  showing  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  Bible-work  in  Persia. 

The  report  for  the  year  1880,  as  made  by  Mr.  Potter, 
presents  the  progress  of  the  mission  in  the  following 
statements  :  ^'  Only  two  members  have  been  received  to 
the  church  in  Tehran  the  past  year,  making  the  present 
membership  on  the  roll  thirty-one.  Contributions  ex- 
clusive of  the  subscription  of  missionaries  have  amounted 
to  $95,  of  which  the  sum  of  $54  was  expended  in  part 
support  of  a  native  helper  at  Tehran,  and  $10  was  sent 
to  Oroomiah  for  the  relief  of  the  famine-sufferers.''  With 
reference  to  Hamadan  he  writes  :  ^'  The  Xestorian  pastor 
has  continued  his  services  with  acceptance.  Four  have 
been  received  into  the  church,  and  one  has  died,  leaving 
the  number  of  members  thirty-five.  The  contributions 
have  amounted  to  $88,  of  which  $45  was  for  famine 
relief  at  Oroomiah,  and  $22  toward  the  support  of  the 
native  pastor.  The  Jewish  movement  at  Hamadan  seems 
to  be  growing  in  importance,  demanding  some  forward 
movement  on  the  part  of  the  mission.  Repeated  efforts 
for  the  protection  of  the  persecuted  converts  seem  at 
length  to  have  been  crowned  with  complete  success.  An 
order  from  the  Persian  minister  of  foreign  affairs  to  the 
governor  of  Hamadan  has  at  length  brought  peace  to 

12 


218  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

the  oppressed.  The  leader  in  this  awakening  among  the 
Jews  has  been  called  to  his  reward. 

^'  Work  in  the  Karaghan  district  was  given  up  in  the 
summer,  because  of  a  very  disturbed  state  of  affairs  re- 
sulting from  the  disputed  ow^nership  of  the  village,  which 
caused  many  of  the  Armenians  to  desert  the  place  in 
fear. 

"Interest  in  the  Scriptures  has  increased,  and  our 
sacred  book  has  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  number 
of  Persians  of  high  rank  who  expressed  a  desire  to  ex- 
amine it.  Sales  during  the  year,  430  volumes,  amount- 
ing to  $117.  A  stock  of  the  Turkish  Matthew,  trans- 
lated by  Mr.  Bassett,  has  been  received  from  t!ie  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  and  a  supply  sent  to  Mash- 
had,  from  whence  some  have  been  forwarded  to  Merv, 
Bokhara  and  to  two  other  points  in  the  interior  of 
Turkistan. 

"The  girls'  boarding-school  of  Tehran  has  had  a 
prosperous  year,  reaching  the  full  number  of  twenty 
pupils.  Owing  to  the  high  prices  which  have  prevailed, 
and  which  still  continue,  it  has  been  a  very  difficult 
problem  to  carry  on  the  school  with  the  amount  allowed 
in  the  estimate. 

"  It  seems  impossible  to  sustain  a  good  boys'  school  at 
Tehran  without  a  large  expenditure  for  instruction,  more 
especially  as  it  has  not  been  practicable  for  the  mission- 
aries to  teach  in  the  school  for  several  years.  At  pres- 
ent one  teacher  is  engaged,  having  twelve  pupils.     The 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  3nSSI0N.  219 

school  at  Hamadan,  iucluding  both  boys  and  girls,  re- 
ports thirty-oue  in  attendance.  AVe  regret  to  say  that 
the  divisions  and  a  want  of  brotherly  feeling  among  the 
members  of  this  church  [in  Tehran]  became  painfully 
apparent  early  in  the  year,  which  have  excited  a  chilling 
influence." 

In  the  course  of  the  summer  of  1881  additional  rooms 
were  constructed  for  the  girls'  school,  and  two  rooms 
were  added  to  the  chapel  on  the  west  side,  to  be  used  for 
manual  labor,  where  the  boys  of  the  school  might  learn 
shoemaking  and  tailoring. 

In  the  month  of  September  word  was  sent  by  tele- 
graph to  Mr.  Potter  from  the  pastor  in  Hamadan  of 
fresh  persecutions  in  that  city.  Mr.  Potter  again  re- 
ferred the  matter  to  tlie  British  minister,  who  promised 
to  see  the  Persian  minister  on  the  subject.  The  cases  of 
persecution  were  these  :  Two  Jewish  converts  were  seized, 
beaten  and  imprisoned,  and  were  released  on  a  condition 
of  the  payment  of  a  fine  of  seventy-five  tomans.  An 
attempt  was  also  made  to  collect  again  a  tax  of  fifty 
tomans  additional,  about  half  the  amount  remitted  by 
express  firman  of  the  Shah  some  six  years  previous  to 
this  time.  Pastor  Shamoon  had  been  very  active  and 
bold  in  his  efforts  with  the  authorities  in  behalf  of  the 
Jews  and  Armenians.  He  sent  the  telegram.  On  this 
account  the  governor  caused  him  to  be  arrested  and 
bound  to  be  flogged,  but  by  the  intercession  of  Dr. 
Eaheem  he  was  released,  but  with  threats  for  the  future 


220  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

should  he  meddle  with  the  affairs  of  these  people. 
Greatly  exasperated  and  mortified,  and  fearing  lest  the 
threats  made  might  be  put  in  execution,  the  pastor  fled 
to  the  protection  of  Zain  al  Abadeen  at  Shevarin.  The 
members  of  the  church  in  Hamadan  sent  a  petition  to 
the  missionary  in  Tehran  asking  redress  for  the  insult 
and  violence  offered  the  priest,  and  desiring  relief  from 
the  taxes.  These  papers  were  referred  to  the  British 
minister  that  he  might  present  them  to  the  Persian 
minister. 

Mr.  Bassett  and  family  left  the  United  States  on  their 
return  to  Persia  in  May,  1881.  They  remained  in  Lon- 
don until  the  25th  of  August.  While  in  that  city  he 
reviewed,  by  request  of  the  committee  of  publication 
of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  a  part  of  the 
manuscript  of  Mr.  Bruce's  revision  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  Persian,  with  a  view  to  the  expediency  of  its 
publication.  He  also  called  upon  the  secretaries  of  the 
London  Society  for  Promoting  Christianity  amongst  the 
Jews,  acquainting  them  with  the  work  carried  on  by  the 
American  mission  in  Hamadan. 

Dr.  W.  W.  Torrence,  a  graduate  of  Rush  Medical 
College  of  Chicago,  had  been  appointed  medical  mis- 
sionary for  Tehran,  and  he  had  arranged  to  join  the 
party  with  Mr.  Bassett  for  the  journey  to  Persia.  Ar- 
riving with  his  wife  in  London  as  arranged,  the  party 
left  that  city  at  the  time  above  stated,  and  traveled  by 
way   of  Berlin,    Czaritzin    and   Astrakhan,    thence   by 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  3nSSI0N.  221 

steamer  on  the  Caspian.  Storms  prevailed  on  that  sea, 
so  that  they  were  unable  to  effect  a  landing  at  Anzile, 
the  steamer  running  directly  across  from  Lankoran  to 
Ashurada.  Here  they  were  obliged  to  land,  and  wait 
until  the  steamer  coming  from  the  north  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Caspian  should  arrive,  that  it  might  take 
them  back  to  Anzile.  Ashurada  is  the  name  given  to  a 
natural  bay  and  harbor  at  the  south-eastern  extremity 
of  the  Caspian.  The  harbor  is  commodious,  but  there 
is  no  settlement  here,  on  the  Persian  shore,  of  any  im- 
portance. The  only  village,  Gaz,  is  a  small  cluster  of 
thatched  and  filthy  huts.  The  country  adjacent  is  a 
dense  jungle  in  which  tigers,  leopards  and  other  wild 
animals  abound,  but  the  mosquitoes  are  more  formidable 
than  the  tigers,  and  the  malaria  is  more  to  be  feared  than 
all  the  wild  animals,  the  mosquitoes  included.  This  is 
such  that  it  is  unsafe  for  foreigners  and  the  uuacclimated 
to  tarry  here  at  all.  Fortunately,  the  party  were  obliged 
to  remain  but  a  night,  as  the  steamer  bound  westward 
came  on  the  following  day  and  took  them  to  Anzile, 
where  they  were  able  to  effect  a  landing,  for  there  was 
now  here  a  calm  sea,  so  that  boats  could  pass  the  road- 
stead. 

The  party  remained  in  Rasht  two  days  to  make  ar- 
rangements for  the  journey  by  land.  While  here  the 
Armenians  renewed  their  request  for  missionaries  and 
schools.  The  party  now  crossed  the  Elburz  to  Casveen, 
going  by  night  over  the  Hazon  pass.     At  Casveen  they 


222  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

met  Mr.  Wilson  and  Miss  Jewett  of  the  mission  in  Tab- 
riz on  thfeir  way  to  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Persian 
mission  to  be  held  in  Tehran.  Both  were  novv  ill  of 
chills  and  fever.  As  post- wagons  could  be  obtained  at 
this  place,  the  remainder  of  the  journey  was  made  with 
rapidity.  Miss  Jewett  joined  the  party  with  Mr.  Bas- 
sett  and  Dr.  Torreuce  (28th  of  September,  1881),  and 
all  reached  the  capital  on  the  second  day  from  Casveen, 
but  all  except  Mr.  Bassett  were  prostrated  with  fever. 
All  but  one  recovered  in  a  few  days ;  that  one  only  after 
a  dangerous  illness  of  three  weeks'  continuance. 

For  a  better  understanding  of  subsequent  events  it 
may  be  here  noted  that  Mirza  Hosein  Khan  (called  Sadr 
Azam,  also  Sapr  Salar)  had  recently  been  removed  from 
office  and  appointed  overseer  *  of  the  shrine  of  Reza 
at  Mashhad,  and  Mirza  Sayed  Khan,  late  overseer  of  the 
shrine,  had  been  appointed  minister  of  foreign  affiiirs  at 
Tehran.  The  former  died  suddenly  at  Mashhad  in  the 
autumn  of  1881.  The  latter  died  in  Tehran  in  January^ 
1884,  and  was  succeeded  in  office  by  the  Nasr  al  Mulk. 
Hosein  Khan  was  noted,  as  we  have  stated,  for  pro- 
gressive ideas  and  liberal  measures.  On  the  contrary, 
his  successor  was  considered  a  bigoted  Mussulman. 

Soon  after  the  arrival   of  the  reinforcements.  Pastor 

Shamoon  of  Hamadan — who,  as  stated,  had  been  arrested 

and   narrowly  escaped  a  scourging — hastened  to  Tehran. 

As  might  be  expected,  he  desired  that  reparation  should 

*  Mutavalle  Bashe. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  223 

be  made  by  the  authorities  for  the  injury  done  him.  As 
it  did  not  seem  at  all  probable  that  tbe  Persian  govern- 
ment would  take  any  such  view  of  the  action  of  the 
governor  as  the  pastor  entertained,  the  pastor  being  a 
Persian  subject,  it  was  proposed  by  the  mission  that  if 
the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  would  issue  an  order 
authorizing  the  return  of  Shamoon,  and  requiring  the 
governor  there  to  protect  him,  no  further  demands  would 
be  made  in  the  case.  A  request  to  this  effect  having 
been  prepared  and  adopted  by  the  mission,  it  was  trans- 
mitted by  Mr.  Potter  to  the  British  minister,  and  a  de- 
cisive order  was  obtained  from  the  Persian  minister  in 
the  interest  of  Pastor  Shamoon ;  and  thus  armed  for 
the  future  and  justified  for  the  past,  he  returned  to 
Haraadan. 

Besides  the  usual  routine  business  of  the  annual  meet- 
ing, some  measures  were  adopted  by  this  session  of  the 
Persian  mission  which  are  of  special  interest.  It  was 
recommended  that  the  mission  be  divided,  the  western 
part  of  the  country,  including  the  stations  of  Oroomiah 
and  Tabriz,  with  their  out-stations,  to  be  called  the  West- 
ern Persian  Mission,  and  the  eastern  and  central  part  of 
Persia,  with  the  stations  of  Tehran  and  Hamadan  and 
their  out-stations,  to  be  known  as  the  Eastern  Persia  Mis- 
sion. In  the  course  of  the  following  year  this  recom- 
mendation, suggested  by  Secretary  Irving,  was  approved 
by  the  Board  of  Missions  in  New  York,  and  the  two 
missions  were  duly  constituted  in  separate  meetings  in 


224  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  3IISSrON. 

the  full  of  1882.  This  action  was  made  necessary  by 
the  long  distances  to  be  traveled  between  the  eastern  and 
western  sections  of  the  country  in  order  to  attend  the 
annual  meetings  and  to  arrange  the  business  of  the 
mission. 

lu  the  present  lack  of  missionary  forces  in  the  several 
stations  it  seemed  to  be  very  difficult  and  inexpedient  to 
spare  any  one  to  go  to  Hamadan.  The  care  of  that  field 
was  therefore  committed,  as  in  the  past,  to  the  mission  in 
Tehran,  with  the  recommendation  that  some  one  or  two 
of  the  members  should  reside  in  that  city.  In  view  of 
this  recommendation,  Mr.  Hawkes  expressed  a  willing- 
ness to  go  thither,  and  was  therefore  appointed  to  that 
station.  It  was  with  great  reluctance  that  the  Tehran 
station  consented  to  the  change,  for  his  services  were 
grGsatly  needed  in  the  capital.  He  left  Tehran  in  the 
month  of  November  for  his  new  field  of  labor,  where 
he  was  the  only  American  missionary  until  the  arrival 
in  the  next  year  of  the  missionaries  sent  expressly  for 
mission-work  in  that  city. 

The  orders  relating  to  the  attendance  of  Mussulmans 
at  the  public  services  for  worship,  issued  April  2,  1880, 
by  the  Persian  government,  Avore  considered  by  the  mis- 
sion. The  judgment  of  that  body  was  expressed,  in 
part,  in  these  words :  "  We  ought  not  and  cannot  pre- 
vent the  attendance  of  Mussulmans  on  our  religious 
services.  In  some  cases  this  might  be  done,  but  to  do 
so  continuously  would  impose  upon  us  a  task  difficult  if 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  225 

not  impossible  in  itself,  and  so  unworthy  of  us  that  it 
should  not  be  thought  of.  The  order  would  most  nat- 
urally apply  to  the  organization  of  schools  and  to  the 
systematic  gathering  by  us  and  our  agents  of  Mussul- 
man congregations.  AVe  recognize  the  obligation  to 
obey  God  rather  than  man,  but  there  seems  to  be  war- 
rant for  an  effort  to  avert  the  fury  of  the  secular  power. 
Such  eifort  we  may  make,  in  the  prayerful  hope  that 
Providence  will  indicate  clearly  our  duty  and  give  abil- 
ity to  discharge  it.  We  recommend,  therefore,  the  fol- 
lowing: 1.  It  is  the  duty  of  all  our  missionaries  and 
native  helpers  to  answer  in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  not 
of  controversy,  all  who  sincerely  seek  to  know  the  way 
of  life.  2.  It  is  not  our  duty,  nor  is  it  wise,  to  open 
schools  for  Mussulmans  at  the  present  time.  3.  That  it 
be  left  to  each  station  to  act  in  view  of  the  aforesaid  or- 
ders as  the  providence  of  God  and  evident  duty  may 
dictate." 

A  copy  of  this  action  was  sent  to  the  British  minister, 
for  the  reason  that  the  orders  of  the  Persian  authorities 
relating  to  the  subject  had  been  received  from  him. 
The  reply  of  the  minister,  dated  October  22,  1881,  is 
interesting  in  several  particulars,  and  is  as  follows  :  "  If 
I  understand  this  communication  rightly,  it  is  not  the 
intention  of  the  members  of  the  mission  generally  to 
prevent  Mussulmans  from  attending  your  religious  ser- 
vices, but  all  missionaries,  native  as  well  as  American, 
are  left  perfectly  free  to  act  as  they  think  best  with  re- 


226  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION, 

gard  to  the  attendance  or  non-attendance  of  Mussul- 
mans; and  you  further  consider  that  the  prohibitory 
orders  issued  by  the  Persian  government,  only  have 
reference  to  the  organization  of  schools  for  Mussulmans. 
I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  call  attention  to  the  official 
memorandum  addressed  to  me  by  the  Persian  minister 
for  foreign  affairs  on  the  29th  of  March,  1881,  and 
communicated  by  me  to  Mr.  Potter  on  the  20th  of  April 
of  that  year.  That  gentleman  replied  the  same  day  to 
the  effect  that  he  had  issued  orders  directing  that  no 
Mussulmans  be  allowed  to  attend  your  religious  services 
and  schools.  I  find  it  a  matter  of  regret  that  your  com- 
mittee should  now  rescind  the  orders,  as  by  so  doing  they 
are  incurring  a  grave  responsibility. 

"  You  cannot  but  be  aware  that  the  Persian  govern- 
ment have  never,  for  a  moment,  thought  of  tolerating  a 
regular  school  for  Mohammedans  :  the  prohibitory  orders 
they  have  issued  are  directed  not  against  the  opening  of 
schools,  a  chance  they  have  never  even  discussed,  but 
against  the  attendance  of  individual  Mohammedans  at 
religious  services.  You  must  bear  in  mind  that  Mussul- 
mans here  are  Persian  subjects  and  amenable  to  the  laws 
of  their  country.  They  render  themselves  liable  to  ar- 
rest and  punishment  by  attending  your  services,  and  it  is 
therefore  a  serious  matter  to  allow  them  to  do  so. 

^'  Considering  the  sentiments  of  the  Persian  govern- 
ment with  regard  to  the  proselytism  of  Mussulmans,  I 
feel  it  my  duty  to  warn  you  that  should  the  missionaries 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  227 

here  or  elsewhere  allow  Mussulmans  to  attend  their  re- 
ligious services,  they  will  imperil  their  position  in  the 
country,  as  the  government  would  probably  interfere 
with  their  work,  if  they  did  not  even  forbid  their  resid- 
ing in  Persia." 

The  minister  further  intimated  that  he  would  inform 
the  Persian  authorities  that  the  mission  declined  to  ob- 
serve the  orders.  In  view  of  this  intimation  the  com- 
mittee replied,  stating  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
consider  the  matter  fully  and  answer  at  once,  and  asking 
that  in  the  mean  time  no  action  be  taken  prejudicial  to 
the  interests  of  the  mission. 

On  the  3d  of  November  an  answer  was  sent  by  Mr. 
Bassett,  the  missionary  in  charge  of  the  business,  such 
reply  having  been  approved  by  the  mission  in  Tehran. 
Its  principal  points  are  given  in  the  following  ex- 
tracts from  the  records :  "  If  we  are  held  responsible 
for  the  attendance  of  Mussulmans  at  all  times  and  places 
of  our  religious  worship,  then,  as  must  be  apparent  to 
every  one,  there  has  been  put  upon  us  an  exceedingly 
difficult  if  not  impracticable  task,  as  well  as  one  repug- 
nant to  our  convictions  of  duty.  This  is  the  particular 
grievance  under  which  we  labor,  and  it  is  to  this  that  we 
wish  in  particular  to  call  the  attention  of  Your  Excel- 
lency, in  the  hope  that  if  any  action  be  necessary  you 
will  use  your  influence  to  obtain  a  modification  of  the 
order,  at  least  in  this  particular  feature  of  it.  While 
we  recognize  the  powder  of  the  Persian  government  over 


228  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

its  own  subjects,  we  wish  to  put  especial  emphasis  on  the 
fact  that  it  is  repugnant  to  our  convictions  of  right,  as 
well  as  to  our  sense  of  honor,  to  exclude  any  persons 
from  our  religious  meetings.  It  appears  to  us,  more- 
over, to  be  very  ungracious  on  the  part  of  the  authori- 
ties that  they  should  seek  to  put  us  in  the  attitude  of 
guards  over  Islam  and  make  us  responsible  for  their 
own  faith.'^ 

It  was  suggested  that  the  mission  would  post  the  or- 
ders of  the  Persian  government  over  the  chapel-doors 
if  this  would  be  taken  as  a  fulfillment  of  the  order  on 
its  part  to  prevent  the  attendance  of  Mohammedans ;  but 
to  all  these  expedients  the  minister  replied  :  ^'  The  Per- 
sian government  having  stated  clearly  that  the  object 
they  have  in  view  with  respect  to  your  chapel  services 
and  schools  is  to  prevent  Mohammedans  from  receiving 
religious  instruction  from  you,  it  would,  in  my  opinion, 
be  useless  to  ask  them  to  accept  as  a  fulfillment  of  their 
orders  the  posting  of  a  notice  such  as  you  have  suggested 
over  the  chapel-doors.  It  may  be  taken  for  granted  that 
they  will  certainly  consider  their  official  notification  as 
having  been  disregarded  if  they  find  that  Mohammedans 
are  in  the  habit  of  attending  your  services  and  schools, 
and  that  religious  instruction  is  being  afforded  them. 
The  Shah  and  his  ministers  have  strongly  expressed 
their  determination  to  carry  out  the  decisions  they  have 
taken  in  this  matter  with  a  view  to  prevent  efforts  at 
proselytism   amongst   Mohammedans,   and   should    any 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  229 

attempt  be  made  Id  that  direction  at  the  present  time  I 
believe  it  will  lead  to  restrictions  being  placed  on  your 
schools  and  missionary  labors  here  and  elsewhere  in  Per- 
sia, if  it  does  not  result  in  objections  being  raised  to  your 
continued  residence  in  the  country/' 

One  marked  feature  of  the  situation  was  that,  notwith- 
standing the  orders  of  all  parties,  Mohammedans  were 
yet  attending  the  religious  services  in  all  the  mission- 
stations,  and  no  effort  was  made  to  prevent  their  doing 
so.  The  mission  was  therefore  liable  to  the  severe  pen- 
alties threatened  by  the  minister  so  long  as  the  orders  of 
the  Persian  government  were  not  rescinded  or  modified. 

It  being  evident  that  nothing  could  be  done  through 
the  British  legation  to  modify  the  order,  the  mission, 
after  prayerful  consideration,  adopted,  on  the  6th  of 
December,  the  following  minute,  to  wit :  "  ^Yhereas  the 
British  minister,  to  whom  the  mission  has  in  years  past 
referred  all  important  matters  with  the  Persian  authori- 
ties, has  recently  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  orders 
issued  in  April,  1880,  prohibiting  the  American  mission- 
aries from  giving  instruction  to  Mussulmans  either  in 
school  or  public  assemblies,  would  be  held  to  be  in  force 
by  the  said  authorities,  and  disregard  of  such  orders 
would  most  likely  lead  to  other  and  great  restrictions 
being  put  upon  our  work  here  and  in  other  places  ;  and 
whereas  there  was  in  1880,  in  purport,  a  promise  of 
obedience  to  the  order  made  by  this  station ;  and  whereas 
sincere  and  honest  dealing  with  the  authorities  in  such 


230  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

circumstances  requires  us  either  to  refuse  compliance 
with  such  orders  or  to  exclude  Mussulmans  from  the 
religious  worship — a  task  difficult  itself  and  repugnant 
to  our  convictions,  and  which  if  done  promises  to  create 
a  false  impression  as  to  the  nature  of  our  work  and  of 
our  duty  to  all  classes ;  and  whereas  said  orders  had 
special  reference  to  the  religious  services  on  the  mission- 
premises,  and  should  we  disregard  the  clearly  expressed 
opinion  of  His  Excellency  we  could  not  reasonably  ex- 
pect his  favorable  influence  in  the  matter  ;  and  whereas 
the  attendance  is  now  largely  of  Mussulmans ;  therefore, 
Resolved,  That  the  services  in  the  mission-chapel  be  dis- 
continued until  such  time  in  the  providence  of  God  as 
they  may  be  honestly  reopened."  The  chapel  was  there- 
fore closed,  and  the  reason  therefor  was  publicly  stated 
to  the  congregation.  It  should  be  added  to  what  is 
written  above  touching  the  orders  of  the  Persian  govern- 
ment referred  to,  that  they  were  issued  to  the  missions 
of  every  society  in  Persia,  and  so  did  not  relate  to  the 
American  missions  alone. 

A  communication  was  now  addressed  by  Mr.  Bassett 
to  the  Persian  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  stating  the  case 
and  asking  relief  from  the  order.  It  was  stated  that  the 
Persian  authorities  have  control  over  their  own  subjects 
and  that  to  exclude  Mohammedans  would  be  contrary  to 
the  customs  of  the  missionaries  and  their  religious  princi- 
ples. It  was  asked,  therefore,  that  the  responsibility  be 
transferred  to  the  police,  or  that  the  orders  be  posted  ou 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  231 

the  doors  of  the  chapel.  The  Persian  minister  referred 
the  subject  to  the  Shah,  as  he  dared  not  act  independ- 
ently. On  hearing  the  request,  the  Shah  said,  "Let 
the  matter  be  referred  to  the  police.''  An  order  to  this 
effect  was  sent  to  the  chief  of  the  police  from  the  Persian 
Foreism  Office.  As  this  order  is  a  curious  document,  I 
herewith  give  a  translation  of  it,  as  follows: 

"  To  the  Count ,  Controller  of  the  Order  [^Nasin]  of 

the  City, 
"  One  Near  the  King  and  Honored : 

"  The  letter  of  Mr.  Bassett,  of  the  New  World,  was 
sent  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  Now,  because 
this  matter  relates  to  the  order  of  the  city,  therefore  the 
letter  itself  I  herewith  send,  that  you  should  forbid 
Mussulmans  to  attend  the  churches  on  Sabbath  days. 
What  right  have  the  common  people  [the  unlearned]  to 
go  to  church  ? 

"In  the  month  Rabe  ul  Aval,  1299  [Jan.  28,  A.  d. 
1882]. 

"  Sealed  by  the  Persian  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.'' 

This  result,  though  not  all  that  could  be  desired,  was 
understood  to  relieve  the  mission  of  the  necessity  of  ex- 
pelling Mohammedans  from  the  chapel  or  of  standing  as 
guards  for  them.  The  chapel  was  therefore  reopened  for 
public  services  on  the  30th  of  January,  1882,  and  the 
services  have  been  held  at  the  usual  times  during  sub- 
sequent years. 


232  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

The  Rev.  J.  Lotka,  a  converted  Jew  and  missionary 
of  the  London  society  referred  to  above,  arrived  at 
Hamadan  October  25,  1881,  soon  after  Mr.  Hawkes 
entered  the  city.  The  Jews  of  Hamadan  therefore  had 
their  earnest  expectation  fulfilled.  The  representatives 
of  two  missionary  societies  were  now  ready  to  labor  for 
them.  The  American  mission  had  a  nucleus  already 
formed  in  a  church  organized  and  schools  established, 
and  twelve  years  of  continuous  missionary  labor  in  that 
city. 

In  November  of  this  year  Mr.  Potter,  at  his  own  sug- 
gestion and  with  the  consent  of  the  mission,  removed  to 
the  district  of  Tehran  known  as  the  Casveen  gate,  with 
a  view  of  being  in  the  settlement  of  the  Armenians  and 
near  the  chapel  in  that  district.  He  had  charge  of  the 
school  and  chapel  services  and  other  work  in  that  quar- 
ter. Dr.  Torrence  opened  a  dispensary  in  his  own  resi- 
dence on  the  north  side,  and  was  busy  in  meeting  calls 
for  medical  services  from  both  Persians  and  Europeans. 
He  also  discharged  the  duties  of  treasurer,  relieving  Mr. 
Potter  of  the  work  of  that  office.  The  medical  mission- 
ary was  received  with  favor  at  once  by  all  classes  of  the 
people :  medical  skill  gave  him  access  to  people  whom  a 
clergyman  could  not  reach. 

Mirza  Lazar  was  now  sent  to  Rasht  to  take  charge  of 
the  work  there.  Owing  to  delay  in  making  his  arrange- 
ments for  the  winter,  he  did  not  arrive  at  that  city  until 
December  and  the  opening  of  the  winter.     In  Tehran 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  233 

prayer-meetings  were  held  ouce  a  week  by  Mrs.  Potter 
on  the  west  side  for  the  benefit  of  the  native  women. 
Special  religious  services  were  held  in  the  girls'  school, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  pupils,  by  the  ladies  in  charge  of 
the  school,  and  much  religious  interest  was  manifested 
by  the  older  scholars.  Services  in  the  chapel  on  the 
north  side  of  town  were  in  the  charge  of  Mr.  Bassett, 
who  preached  also  in  English  to  a  congregation  which 
met  at  his  residence. 

In  January,  1882,  the  school  for  Jews  was  reopened 
by  request  of  the  elders  of  the  Jewish  colony.  The 
school  had  now  been  closed  about  two  years.  Besides 
Baba  and  the  rabbi  mentioned  as  teachers,  a  converted 
Jew  named  Nurillah  was  employed  to  teach  some  of  the 
branches.  He  was  a  member  of  the  church  in  Tehran 
and  attended  the  king's  college.  In  August,  1883,  he 
departed  for  Loudon  at  his  own  choice  and  expense,  and 
having  letters  from  members  of  the  mission  to  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Turkish  Missions  Aid  Society.  He  was  de- 
tained by  sickness  on  the  way,  and  was  in  needy  circum- 
stances when  he  entered  London.  He  was  kindly  re- 
ceived by  the  secretary  of  that  society,  and  by  him  in- 
troduced to  Mr.  Stern,  of  whom  he  received  instruction. 
He  entered  the  Hebrew  Missionary  Training  Institution 
in  Palestine  Place,  London,  where  he  has  pursued  a 
course  of  studies  preparatory  to  the  ministry  of  the  gos- 
pel. He  has  spent  some  of  his  vacations  in  connection 
with  the  mission  to  the  Jews  in  Mogadore  in  Morocco. 

13 


234  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  3nSS10N. 

The  writer  of  these  pages  met  him  in  London  in  1884, 
and  was  much  pleased  with  the  evidences  of  improve- 
ment in  mind  and  manners.  His  progress  is  most  cred- 
itable to  him,  and  especially  to  those  who  have  prepared 
him  for  his  work. 

It  was  now  proposed  to  change  the  school  of  Armenian 
boys  to  a  boarding-school,  owing  to  the  applications  re- 
ceived from  parents  who  wished  to  place  their  boys  in 
the  mission-school.  The  want  of  suitable  buildings  pre- 
vented the  best  arrangement  of  the  school,  but  a  num- 
ber of  boys  were  placed  in  Armenian  families  and  aided 
by  an  allowance  for  food  and  clothing,  and  others  were 
received  as  day-scholars.  The  school  was  opened  in  the 
district  of  Shimron  gate.  The  pupils  of  the  east-side 
school  were  brought  to  this  one,  so  doing  away  with  the 
school  on  that  side  of  the  city.  Several  applications  for 
admission  were  received  from  Mohammedans,  but  being 
referred  to  the  Persian  authorities  they  were  not  re- 
newed. 

Miss  Sarah  Bassett  returned  to  the  United  States  on 
account  of  ill-health.  She  left  Tehran  in  April,  going 
by  the  way  of  Tabriz,  Tiflis  and  the  Black  Sea.  She 
was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Potter  and  Miss  Schenck  to 
Tabriz.  During  the  absence  of  these  ladies  Mrs.  Potter 
had  charge  of  the  girls'  school.  Miss  Schenck  returned 
in  May,  having  been  absent  about  one  mouth.  She  re- 
mained with  the  school  in  the  city  during  the  following 
summer.    On  his  return  from  Tabriz,  Mr.  Potter  rented 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  235 

a  house  adjoining  the  mission-premises  on  the  north  side, 
and  removed  to  it.  The  services  in  the  chapel  at  the 
Casveen  gate  were  pat  in  charge  of  the  elders  of  the 
church,  and  the  school  in  that  place  was  consolidated 
with  the  school  on  the  north  side. 

As  a  result  of  the  services  in  English  measures  were 
taken  to  obtain  funds  for  the  erection  of  a  chapel  and 
purchase  of  laud  for  a  cemetery  expressly  for  Protestant 
foreigners.  The  Roman  Catholics  owned  a  chapel  and 
cemetery  used  expressly  for  papal  foreigners.  The  Ar- 
^menians  also  had  their  own  place  of  burial.  But  no 
provision  had  been  made  for  Protestants.  A  lot  of  land 
some  four  miles  from  the  city,  and  adjacent  to  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  burial-ground,  had  for  several  years  been 
used,  but  it  was  a  desolate  place  and  unprotected.  The 
need  of  effort  for  foreigners  on  the  part  of  the  mission 
was  felt,  not  only  because  of  the  interest  in  the  religious 
and  general  good  of  the  foreigners,  but  also  by  reason 
of  the  fact  that  the  missionaries,  being  the  only  Protest- 
ant clergymen  in  the  city,  were  called  upon  to  officiate  at 
all  funerals  of  Protestants.  Requests  to  bury  in  our 
chapel  lot  were  numerous,  and  threatened  to  be  without 
end.  To  refuse  was,  to  say  the  least,  unpleasant  to  all 
parties.  The  proposed  chapel  was  designed  to  provide 
for  this  need  of  foreign  residents.  It  was  a  condition 
of  the  subscription  that  the  proposed  building  should  be 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  mission  and  under  its  control. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  months  the  subscription  amounted 


236  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

to  about  twelve  hundred  dollars,  and  was  paid.  With 
reference  to  a  site,  effort  was  made  by  the  British  minis- 
ter to  obtain  a  grant  of  land  from  the  Shah.  After  a 
delay  of  some  months  and  the  rejection  of  several  ob- 
jectionable conditions  proposed  by  the  authorities,  the 
minister  informed  the  mission  that  he  had  accepted  a 
grant  of  land  subject  to  the  following  conditions,  to  wit : 

^'  1.  The  building  should  not  exceed  in  size  and  extent 
that  described  in  the  plans  and  specifications  referred  to." 

It  was  manifest  to  the  mission  that  any  such  conditions 
as  that  could  not  have  emanated  from  the  Shah,  as  the 
size  and  style  could  be  of  very  little  interest  to  him. 

"2.  That  no  children  of  Mohammedans  should  be 
admitted  to  the  chapel ;  and 

"  3.  That  no  Mussulmans  of  any  age  should  be  al- 
lowed to  attend  services  held  in  the  building." 

The  mission  replied,  through  Mr.  Bassett,  that  they 
could  not  accept  the  grant  on  the  conditions.  The  mis- 
sion had  no  expectation  of  using  the  building  for  mission 
purposes,  and  had  no  need  or  desire  to  open  the  chapel  to 
Mussulmans  or  any  other  Persians,  but  they  were  un- 
willing to  submit  to  any  humiliating  conditions,  es- 
pecially conditions  with  reference  to  which  the  mission 
had  expressed  its  feelings  and  purpose  so  decisively. 
The  mission  proposed  that  land  be  pii7'chased  without 
condition,  but  it  was  stated  that  the  land  granted  by  the 
Shah  had  been,  by  the  British  minister,  tendered  to  par- 
ties of  the  Church  of  England  in  that  country,  and  fur- 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  237 

ther  aid  solicited  with  a  view  to  an  English  chaplaincy. 
The  mission  therefore  asked  the  subscribers  to  receive 
the  funds  collected.  They  organized  a  society,  appointed 
trustees  and  a  building  committee  and  received  the 
amount  collected.  The  mission  was  thus  relieved  of 
any  further  obligation  in  the  matter.  It  is  to  be  re- 
gretted, however,  that  the  arrangement  for  the  benefit  of 
the  foreigners  was  not  completed,  for  the  chapel  was  not 
constructed.  The  English  society  proceeded  in  the  au- 
tumn to  lay  a  foundation  for  the  walls  on  the  land 
granted  by  the  Shah,  but  they  were  informed  by  the 
British  minister  that  the  Persian  authorities  would  not 
permit  burials  to  be  made  within  the  walls  of  the  city. 
The  trustees  therefore,  having  waited  a  year,  and  feeling 
that  as  one  great  object  of  the  undertaking  was  a  ceme- 
tery for  foreigners,  and  this  was  now  impracticable,  and 
that  they  would  be  defeated  in  any  effort  to  this  end, 
tendered  the  funds  in  hand  to  the  individuals  who  had 
subscribed  them. 

A  phenomenon  of  unusual  appearance  this  year  was 
a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun.  It  occurred  on  the  17th  of 
May,  1882.  The  period  of  total  obscuration  was  four 
minutes,  or  from  10.28  to  10.32  A.  M.  The  sky  was 
perfectly  clear  and  the  stars  shone  with  brilliancy.  A 
bright  comet  apj^eared  near  the  sun  during  the  obscura- 
tion. Native  Persians  were  much  alarmed  and  very 
serious.  Some  of  them  said  they  could  not  understand 
how  we  could  smile  in  the  day  of  judgment. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Arrival  of  Reinforcements — Eastern  Persian  Mission  Constituted — 
Schools — Theodore  Isaac — Services  of  Public  Worship  in  Eng- 
lish— Eeport  of  the  Girls'  School  for  1882 — Book  Department — • 
Medical  Department — The  Native  Church — Death  of  Usta  Abra- 
ham— Erection  of  a  New  Chapel — The  Building  Described — 
Opposition  excited  by  the  Amene  Sultan — Attempt  to  Purchase 
the  Mission-Premises  by  the  Amene — The  Work  in  Hamadan — 
Persecutions — Mirza  Sayed  Khan — Beginning  of  the  Mission  of 
the  United  States  to  Persia — Inquiries  concerning  the  Safety  of 
Citizens  of  the  United  States  in  Persia — Report  of  the  British 
Foreign  Office  in  Reply — First  Appointment  under  the  Act  of 
Congress — Appointment  of  S.  G.  W.  Benjamin — His  Arrival  in 
Persia — His  Antecedents  and  Qualifications — Public  Worship  in 
English — Services  in  Persian — Matters  with  the  Amene  Sultan — 
Affairs  in  Hamadan — The  Secretary  of  the  Legation  goes  to 
Hamadan — Attempts  of  the  Old  Armenians  in  Hamadan — Per- 
secutions— Pleasant  Episodes — Miss  S.  Bassett  returns  to  Persia 
in  Company  with  Miss  Sherwood — Summary  of  the  Year's  Work 
— Work  for  Women,  as  shown  by  the  Reports  of  Mrs.  Bassett 
and  Mrs.  Potter — A  Glimpse  of  the  Girls'  School,  as  given  by  the 
Report  of  Miss  Bassett — Special  Religious  Interest  in  the  Winter 
of  1883-84 — Summer  Residence  and  Work — Resignation  and 
Return  of  Mr.  Bassett  to  America ;  Reasons  therefor — Statements 
of  the  Annual  Report — Summary  of  the  Year's  Work  in  Hama- 
dan— Summary  of  Statistics  of  the  Mission — Miss  Schenck's  Quar- 
terly Report— Miss  Bassett's  Report  of  the  Year's  Work  in  the 
Girls'  School. 


I 


N  the  autumn  of  1882  the  missiou  was  gratified  by 
the  arrival  of  Dr.  Alexander  and  wife,  Miss  Anna 

238 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  239 

Montgomery  and  Miss  Cora  Bartlett.  The  three  first 
named  had  been  appointed  to  Hamadan,  and  Miss  Bart- 
lett to  Tehran.  They  were  met  at  Anzile  by  Dr.  Tor- 
rence,  and  by  him  escorted  to  Tehran.  They  remained 
here  a  few  days  during  the  organization  and  session  of 
the  Eastern  Persian  Mission.  That  mission  now  met  for 
the  first  time  and  adopted  a  basis  of  organization  and 
by-laws.  The  members  constituting  the  mission  at  the 
time  of  organization,  named  in  the  order  of  their  connec- 
tion with  the  mission  to  Persia,  were — Rev.  James  Bas- 
sett,  Mrs.  Abigail  W.  Bassett,  Rev.  Joseph  L.  Potter,  Miss 
Sarah  J.  Bassett  (now  absent  in  America),  Miss  Anna 
Schenck,  Mrs.  Harriet  Potter,  Rev.  J.  W.  Hawkes,  Dr. 
W.  W.  Torrence,  Mrs,  Torrence,  Dr.  E.  W.  Alexander, 
Mrs.  Alexander,  Miss  Cora  Bartlett  and  Miss  Anna 
Montgomery. 

The  schools  and  religious  services  were  maintained 
without  interruption.  The  school  for  Jews  was  attended 
by  about  fifty  scholars.  The  boys'  school  on  the  mission 
premises  was  taught  during  the  spring  and  summer  by 
an  Armenian  named  Theodore  Isaac,  of  India.  He  left 
that  country,  where  he  had  received  a  good  education,  to 
attend  the  University  of  Cambridge,  England.  He  re- 
mained in  Tehran  until  the  autumn,  and  was  employed 
by  tlie  mission  to  teach.  He  was  a  very  zealous  Ar- 
menian, and,  though  willing  to  teach  a  Protestant  school, 
would  not  listen  to  a  Protestant  Armenian.  He  would 
leave  the  chapel  as  soon  as  one  began  to  preach,  because, 


240  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

as  he  said,  they  were  not  ordained.  He  went  on  to  Cam- 
bridge, and  thence,  in  time,  to  the  University  of  Bonn. 
From  the  latter  place  he  wrote  in  1886,  expressing  his 
readiness  to  return  to  Persia,  and  also  indicating  a 
marked  change  of  sentiment  with  reference  to  many 
points  of  difference  with  Protestants. 

During  the  winter  of  1882-83  the  services  of  religious 
worship,  both  in  English  and  Persian,  on  the  mission- 
premises  were  conducted  by  the  two  clerical  missionaries 
jointly.  The  attendance  on  the  part  of  foreigners  now, 
as  heretofore,  was  all  that  could  be  expected.  Col. 
Smith,  the  superintendent  of  the  government  of  India's 
telegraph  in  Persia,  gave  during  many  years  to  these 
services  the  encouragement  of  his  presence  and  influence, 
and  in  so  doing  he  was  earnestly  seconded  by  his  accom- 
plished wife.  Mr.  Nelson  also,  superintendent  of  the 
Indo-European  telegraph  in  Persia,  with  his  family,  was 
an  attendant  and  reliable  friend  of  the  cause,  as  were  also 
Dr.  Baker  and  others  too  many  to  mention  in  particular. 

A  few  statements  from  the  annual  report  for  1882 
will  close  the  review  of  that  year.  The  report  of  the 
girls'  school,  made  by  Miss  Schenck,  speaks  of  the  re- 
ligious interest  of  this  year  "  as  more  thorough,  deep  and 
lasting  than  at  any  previous  time."  Several  important 
points  are  sought  to  be  attained  :  1,  To  take  pupils  while 
very  young ;  2,  to  keep  the  school  open  during  the  en- 
tire year ;  3,  to  make  the  English  language  the  medium 
of  instruction.     The  number  of  pupils  enrolled  has  been 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  241 

45.  The  report  of  the  book  department,  made  by 
Mr.  Potter,  shows  that  1200  volumes  of  the  Scriptures 
and  parts  of  the  Scriptures  have  been  sold  and  433  vol- 
umes have  been  granted,  and  617  volumes  of  text-books 
sold  and  349  volumes  granted.  Bookrooms  have  been 
kept  in  the  cities  of  Tehran,  Rasht,  Koom,  Zerd  and 
Mashhad.  The  report  of  the  medical  department  to 
May  1,  1882,  made  by  Dr.  Torrence,  shows  that  4539 
prescriptions  were  given,  3352  persons  seen  for  consulta- 
tion, and  the  receipts  of  the  department  for  medical  ser- 
vices were  T.206.2.09,  or  $412.  A  hospital  for  Persians 
and  Europeans  was  an  object  to  be  attained  in  the  near 
future.  The  native  church  in  Tehran  had  received  four 
members — one  a  Jew  and  three  Armenians.  The  total 
membership  was  then  29.  The  contributions  of  the 
church  amounted  to  $85.  The  death  of  the  elder  Usta 
Abraham  was  a  great  loss  to  the  church.  He  was  one 
of  the  members  received  at  the  time  of  the  organization 
of  the  church.  He  was  much  esteemed  for  prudence, 
honesty  and  industry.  He  had  not  been  aided  by  the 
mission  nor  was  he  at  any  time  in  its  employ.  The  re- 
port of  the  schools  gives  tliose  maintained  during  the 
year  in  Tehran.  It  mentions  also  the  need  of  a  seminary 
for  boys. 

In  April,  1883,  the  erection  of  a  new  chapel  on  the 
mission-premises  in  the  district  of  Shimroji  gate  was 
begun.  The  need  of  this  had  long  been  felt,  but  the 
means  of  construction   had  not  been  provided.     It  was 


242  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

built  of  burned  brick.  The  height  of  ceiling  was  about 
twenty-two  feet.  The  floor  was  laid  with  large  tiles, 
and  in  three  sections  raised  one  above  another.  The 
audience-room  was  seated  with  well-made  pews.  The 
pulpit  chairs,  of  carved  wood,  were  made  by  the  direction 
of  the  Persian  minister  of  arts,  Jangier  Khan,  and  were 
given  to  the  mission  by  him.  They  were  upholstered 
with  crimson  velvet.  The  window-frames  and  the  sash 
in  diamond  panes  were  made  by  a  Persian  carpenter  and 
were  set  with  colored  glass.  The  sashes  were  made  in 
two  sections,  and  turned  on  perpendicular  rods  in  the 
centre.  A  heavy  cornice  of  plaster  of  Paris  extended 
around  the  wall  beneath  the  ceiling.  There  were 
also  three  centre-pieces  of  the  same  material,  and  cor- 
nices and  scrolls  above  the  windows.  There  was  an 
alcove  back  of  the  pulpit,  the  end  of  the  audience-room 
having  an  arch  of  brick  of  the  width  of  the  platform. 
The  interior  walls  and  ceiling  were  finished  with  a  white 
coating  of  plaster  of  Paris.  This  could  be  well  afforded, 
for  gypsum  is  very  abundant  in  Persia.  The  structure 
was  completed  in  the  autumn.  The  walls  had  been  car- 
ried to  near  their  full  height  before  any  opposition  was 
started.  Ameue  Sultan,  the  king's  chamberlain,  was  a 
near  neighbor  of  the  mission  ;  he  was  absent  during  the 
summer  with  the  king  in  Khorasan.  His  wife,  being 
informed  of  the  building,  sent  word  to  stop  the  work, 
and  caused  information  to  be  given  to  the  prince,  who 
appealed  to  the  Shah  ;  but  before  word  could  reach  Teh- 


Interior  of  New  Chapel.  Page  243. 


PEESIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  245 

ran  the  walls  were  completed.  The  servants  of  the 
prince  had  ordered  the  masons  to  quit  the  work,  and 
they  dared  not  return  until  Mr.  Bassett  himself  stood 
over  them  and  ordered  the  Mussulmans  of  the  prince's 
household  to  attend  to  their  own  affairs,  and  forbade 
their  molesting  the  masons,  refusing  to  obey  any  order 
except  that  of  the  Persian  Foreign  Office  delivered  by 
the  legation.  There  was  some  negotiation,  but  the  Per- 
sian minister  did  not  order  the  walls  to  be  taken  down. 
He  gave  an  order  for  the  completion  of  the  roof.  A 
wall  was  built  on  the  top  of  the  roof,  across  the  rear,  to 
screen  the  workmen,  so  that  they  could  not  look  into  the 
court  of  the  harem  of  the  prince.  For  some  time  the 
workmen  could  not  go  upon  the  roof  without  being 
ordered  down  by  the  servants  of  the  sultan.  They, 
being  Persians,  very  naturally  feared  the  displeasure  of 
this  man.  The  Amene  had  desired  to  purchase  the  land 
on  which  the  chapel  had  been  erected,  but  the  mission 
could  not  sell  it  without  great  detriment  to  itself;  but 
it  offered  to  sell  all  its  premises  to  him  on  condition  of 
permission  being  given  by  the  Persian  authorities  to  pur- 
chase other  land.  The  Amene,  however,  seemed  to 
think  that  he  could  obtain  the  property  eventually  at  a 
low  figure.  He  again  sent  proposals  to  purchase  when 
the  chapel  was  completed.  He  saiij  that  he  liked  the 
new  building  and  would  pay  the  value  of  the  lot  and  the 
cost  of  the  chapel,  which  was  about  five  thousand  dol- 
lars.    But  the  mission  could  not  afford  to  sell  its  chapel, 


246  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  31ISSI0N. 

and  the  prince  renewed  his  proposals  for  the  purchase 
of  all  the  premises,  saying  that  he  would  have  to  tear 
down  all  the  buildings  except  the  chapel  in  case  of 
purchase,  as  they  would  be  of  no  use  to  him.  But 
he  was  not  yet  ready  to  give  the  full  value  of  the 
property. 

During:  the  winter  of  1881-82  the  work  in  Hamadan 
was  carried  on  without  material  change.  The  year  1882 
Avas  the  first  of  the  two  missions,  the  British  and  Amer- 
ican, in  that  place,  and  was  a  time  of  great  annoyance  and 
of  persecution  of  the  Jewish  converts.  Nor  was  there 
any  improvement  in  the  year  1883.  Mirza  Sayed  Khan 
ignored  his  own  orders.  In  fact,  there  was  no  dependence 
to  be  placed  on  his  decisions  :  he  observed  or  evaded  them 
at  his  own  pleasure.  The  schools  were  closed  and  opened, 
and  reclosed  and  reopened.  It  was  ordered  that  no  one 
should  sell  land  or  building-material  to  the  missionaries 
in  Hamadan  or  to  any  foreign  missionaries,  though 
building  was  at  the  time  being  carried  on  by  the  Prot- 
estant mission  and  the  papal  mission  in  Tehran.  The 
opposition  was  greater,  if  possible,  after  the  arrival  of 
the  American  legation  than  before.  A  few  weeks  pre- 
vious to  that  the  Persian  authorities  expressed  the  pur- 
pose to  leave  all  matters  of  inquiry,  or  not  to  open 
any  new  questions,  until  the  arrival  of  the  American 
minister. 

In  the  spring  of  1882  it  was  learned  that  efforts  were 
being  made  in  the  United  States  to  obtain  an  act  of 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  247 

Congress  authorizing  the  appointment  of  a  representa- 
tive of  the  government  of  the  United  States  for  Persia. 
Previous  to  1883  the  United  States  had  never  been  rep- 
resented at  the  court  of  Persia.  At  the  time  of  the  war 
opened  on  Persia  by  the  Kurds  in  1880  inquiries  were 
made  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  at  the 
British  Foreign  Office  concerning  the  safety  of  the  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  in  the  country  of  the  Shah. 
The  correspondence  includes  a  reference  to  the  action  of 
the  mission  taken  subsequent  to  the  close  of  the  Kurdish 
war  in  1881,  and  relates  the  orders  issued  by  the  Persian 
government  touching  Mussulmans  and  the  giving  of  re- 
ligious instruction  to  them.  In  the  report  of  the  British 
Foreign  Office  there  is  a  partial  statement  of  the  reasons 
assigned  for  their  action,  in  which  it  is  represented  that 
the  missionaries  consider  it  their  duty  "to  obey  God 
rather  than  man,'^  and  the  condition  of  the  missionaries 
in  consequence  of  their  action  is  said  to  be  "  critical,"  so 
much  so  as  to  seem  to  justify  a  telegram  from  the  De- 
partment of  State  in  Washington  to  the  minister  of  the 
United  States  in  London,  expressing  the  hope  that  Her 
Majesty's  representatives  would  continue  to  affi^rd  pro- 
tection to  the  missionaries  as  heretofore.  All  this  was 
the  result  of  the  report  of  the  action  of  the  mission  to 
the  British  Foreign  Office  by  Mr.  Ronald  Thomson,  the 
British  minister  in  Tehran,  while  the  missionaries  had  to 
appeal  to  the  Shah  himself  for  protection  from  those 
measures  to  which  the  British  minister  himself  was  a 


248  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

party.  The  representations  made  by  Mr.  Thomson  were 
an  important  factor  in  the  influences  leading  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  mission  of  the  United  States  government 
in  Persia.  The  reason  given  for  the  mission  was  ^'  the 
protection  of  American  citizens  "  in  Persia.  The  results 
were  very  acceptable  to  those  citizens,  and  the  Americans 
resident  in  Persia  have  occasion  for  gratitude  to  the  peo- 
ple in  America  who  had  their  interest  so  much  at  heart 
as  to  adopt  measures  for  their  protection — a  favor  which 
the  missionaries  would  have  been  very  reluctant  to 
claim. 

The  first  appointment  under  the  act  of  Congress  was 
that  of  Rev.  H.  H.  Jessup,  D.  D.,  of  Syria.  It  is  fairly 
presumed  that  no  one  acquainted  with  Dr.  Jessup  would 
have  thought  that  he  would  accept  the  appointment.  It 
may  be  believed  that  it  was  sought  for  him  by  interested 
friends  as  an  act  of  courtesy  in  their  anxiety  to  do  him 
honor. 

On  the  declination  of  the  appointment  by  Dr.  Jessup, 
Mr.  S.  G.  W.  Benjamin  was  appointed  minister  resident 
and  consul-general  at  the  court  of  the  Shah.  He  arrived 
with  his  wife  and  daughter  at  Anzile  in  the  month  of 
May,  1883,  and  was  escorted  to  the  capital  with  the 
usual  honors  and  by  a  special  messenger  of  the  Shah. 
He  was  formally  received  in  the  capital  on  the  9th  of 
June,  the  king  having  delayed  his  own  departure  for 
Mashhad  to  do  him  honor.  His  Majesty  departed  on 
the  same  day  for  the  eastern  border  of  his  dominions, 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  HUSSION.  249 

ostensibly,  it  is  said,  to  pay  his  devotions  at  the  shrine 
of  Reza,  but  really  to  investigate  certain  questions  about 
the  boundaries  as  they  would  be  affected  by  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Russians  in  Turkistan. 

Mr.  Benjamin  is  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Nathan  Benjamin, 
a  missionary  appointed  in  1836  by  the  American  Board  to 
Athos  in  Greece,  and  later  to  Athens  and  Constantinople. 
The  early  associations  of  the  minister  were  such,  there- 
fore, as  to  make  him  a  friend  of  missionaries.  Well  ac- 
quainted with  the  French  and  Turkish  languages  and 
the  character  and  customs  of  Orientals,  a  man  of  liter- 
ary culture,  he  was  well  fitted  by  these  and  other  quali- 
fications for  the  position  to  which  he  had  been  appointed. 

Mr.  Benjamin,  as  well  as  Col.  Smith  and  other  persons, 
was  desirous  that  services  in  English  should  be  held  in 
the  new  chapel  on  Sabbath  afternoons.  They  were 
therefore  begun  and  maintained  during  the  usual  time  of 
residence  in  the  city.  Later  in  the  season,  by  special  ar- 
rangement with  the  members  of  the  American  and  Brit- 
ish legations,  the  morning  services  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land were  read  by  Mr.  Bassett  and  a  sermon  was  preached 
by  him.  The  members  of  the  British  legation  contracted 
to  pay  during  the  season  the  sum  of  about  $150,  which 
was  duly  paid  to  the  treasurer  of  the  mission. 

The  services  in   Persian  were  conducted  by  the  two 
missionaries,  each  officiating  on  alternate  Sabbaths.     A 
Sabbath-school  for  Persians  was  sustained  by  good  at-, 
tendance,  also  a  prayer-meeting  on  Fridays  in  Persian. 


250  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

The  demands  of  the  Amene  Sultan  and  business  mat- 
ters relating  to  Hamadan  were  referred  to  Mr.  Benjamin. 
It  was  demanded  of  the  Amene  that  he  should  fill  up 
with  brickwork  the  windows  which  he  had  constructed 
to  overlook  the  mission-premises.  This  business  fell 
to  the  Persian  minister  of  foreign  affairs.  But  Mirza 
Sayed  Khan  was  fruitful  in  expedients  for  avoiding  the 
points  at  issue,  and  he  feared  the  influence  of  the 
Amene.  The  windows,  however,  were  in  time  closed 
through  the  efforts  of  the  legation.  Matters  with  the 
authorities  in  Hamadan  went  on  from  bad  to  worse  until 
the  spring  and  summer  of  1 884.  In  the  winter  of  1 883- 
84  the  Christian  Jews  were  greatly  annoyed,  as  were  also 
the  missionaries  in  that  city.  Owing  to  the  difficulty 
experienced  in  obtaining  any  redress  of  wrongs  from 
Mirza  Sayed  Khan,  the  minister  sent  his  secretary,  Mr. 
Keun,  to  Hamadan  to  consult  with  authorities  there. 
Some  of  the  Jewish  converts  had  been  beaten,  fined  and 
imprisoned  for  persisting  in  serving  the  missionaries, 
contrary  to  the  order  of  the  Persian  authorities.  In  the 
fall  of  1883  the  Armenians  of  Shevarin  attempted  to 
obtain  possession  of  the  church  in  Hamadan.  The  fa- 
rashes  entered  the  building  and  took  out  the  benches  and 
other  property  belonging  to  the  missionaries,  and  closed 
the  doors  of  the  church.  The  representative  of  the  le- 
gation could  obtain  no  concessions  from  the  authorities. 
The  prince-governor  had  returned  to  Tehran,  leaving 
affairs  in  the  management  of  his  son,  a  mere  lad.     The 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  251 

secretary  called  to  his  aid  the  farashcs  of  the  governor 
and  arrested  some  of  the  oifenders,  and  caused  the 
schools  to  be  opened,  but  they  were  closed  as  soon  as  he 
left  the  city.  The  farashes  put  a  lock  and  seal  on  the 
doors  of  the  building  used  for  a  school  for  Jews.  A 
school  for  Armenian  girls  in  the  care  of  Miss  Montgom- 
ery was  not  molested.  In  spite  of  these  annoyances, 
though  not  permitted  to  build,  the  missionaries  were 
suffered  to  purchase  residences  for  their  own  use.  Mirza 
Sayed  Khan  died  in  the  spring  of  1884.  It  was  hoped 
that  his  successor  would  be  more  liberal  and  efficient. 
Mr.  Benjamin  presented  to  him  a  strong  protest  against 
the  acts  of  the  authorities  in  Hamadan,  and  demanded 
indemnity  and  the  removal  of  some  of  the  officials  of 
that  city ;  but  the  new  Persian  minister  very  deliberate- 
ly composed  a  reply  charging  that  the  missionaries  had 
violated  treaty  stipulations.  These  charges  were,  how- 
ever, withdrawn,  for  he  soon  thereafter  ordered  indem- 
nity to  be  taken  from  the  Armenians  who  had  caused 
the  church-furniture  to  be  seized  and  the  church  closed. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  there  were  no  pleasant 
phases  of  the  mission-work  and  life  in  Hamadan.  The 
following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Dr.  Alex- 
ander, under  the  date  of  February  9,  1883,  shows  that 
there  were  some  pleasant  episodes  in  the  course  of 
affairs : 

"  We  were  all  to  the  prince's  Wednesday  night,  and 
the  big  man  of  Shevarin  has  sent  his  carriage  to  take  us 

14 


252  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

out  to  his  place  for  the  evening ;  so  you  see  we  do  not 
live  in  constant  storms.  God  is  always  kind,  and  makes 
it  pleasant  for  us  here/' 

In  the  month  of  October,  Miss  S.  Bassett  returned 
from  America  in  company  with  Miss  Sherwood,  ap- 
pointed to  Tehran,  but,  owing  to  the  fact  that  Miss 
Montgomery  was  without  an  associate  in  the  women's 
work  in  Hamadan,  Miss  Sherwood  was  a  few  months 
later  transferred  to  the  mission  in  that  city.  In  the 
fall  of  the  following  year  she  married  the  Rev.  J.  W. 
Hawkes  of  Hamadan.  On  the  arrival  of  the  ladies  at 
Anzile  they  were  met  by  Mr.  Potter  to  escort  them  to 
Tehran. 

A  few  statements  gleaned  from  the  annual  report  of 
this  year  give  a  concise  account  of  the  year's  work. 
Two  schools  were  maintained  in  Tehran  throughout  the 
year.  One  of  these,  situated  near  the  Casveen  gate,  has 
been  attended  by  about  25  children  of  Armenians.  Of 
this  number,  12  have  been  assisted  by  allowances  for 
food  and  clothing,  and  2  are  orphans  and  5  are  half- 
orphans.  This  school  is  designed  to  be,  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, a  boarding-school  for  boys.  Two  thousand  tomans 
were  asked  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  suitable  building. 
The  studies  pursued  are  in  Persian,  English  and  Arme- 
nian. The  second  school  is  that  for  the  children  of  Jews. 
The  average  attendance  has  been  40.  The  languages 
employed  in  instruction  are  Hebrew,  Persian  and  Eng- 
lish.    The  New  Testament  in  Persian  is  used  as  a  text- 


Hut  ami  Bootli  near  Rasht.  Page  253. 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  255 

book,  and  the  Catechism  is  learned.  The  school  in 
Kasht  has  been  attended  by  20  pupils.  The  congrega- 
tion of  native  Persians  was  removed  to  the  west  side  of 
Tehran,  owing  to  changes  to  be  made  in  the  buildings 
occupied  hitherto  on  the  north  side  of  town.  The  ser- 
vices were  attended  by  Jews,  Armenians  and  Moham- 
medans. The  Persian  authorities  have  not  interfered 
with  the  attendance.  The  native  church  has  experienced 
no  marked  change.  Land  for  a  cemetery  has  been  pur- 
chased by  the  church.  The  report  mentions  the  need  of 
a  well-qualified  native  pastor.  It  mentions  also  the  sub- 
scription for  a  chapel  and  cemetery  for  foreigners,  and 
the  erection  on  the  mission-premises  of  a  new  chapel 
capable  of  seating  three  hundred  people.  The  interest 
in  Rasht  culminated  in  the  organization  (October  16, 
1883)  of  a  church  in  that  city  and  under  the  care  of 
Mirza  Lazar.  The  collections  in  Rasht  have  amounted 
to  about  $64.  Priest  Megerditch  has  resided  and  labored 
in  Bohmaiu  and  its  vicinity.  The  arrival  of  a  legation 
of  the  United  States  is  mentioned  as  a  propitious  event, 
relieving  the  mission  of  the  greater  part  of  the  usual 
business  with  the  Persian  authorities. 

The  work  for  Persian  women  may  be  shown  by  ex- 
tracts from  the  reports  made  by  the  ladies  in  charge  of 
the  different  departments  of  that  work.  Mrs.  Bassett 
began  to  hold  meetings  with  Jewish  women  this  year  in 
the  Jewish  quarter  of  the  city.  Concerning  this,  under 
date  of  November  13,  1883,  she  writes  :  "  I  began  meet- 


256  PEESLi  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

in^-s  in  the  Jewish  quarter  in  the  month  of  November. 
]\let-  at  the  house  of  Mirza  Baba,  who  is  tlie  teaelier  of 
the  Jews'  boys'  sehool,  witli  an  attendance  of  24  women 
and  girls.  Tliey  seemed  greatly  pleased  that  I  should 
meet  them  onee  every  week  and  endeavor  to  show  them 
the  way  of  life.  The  number  increased,  gradually  week 
by  week,  also  the  interest.  I  said  to  the  women  and 
little  girls  the  next  week  after  the  meeting,  I  would  meet 
all  who  wished  to  learn  to  read.  When  the  time  came  I 
Ibund  eight  or  ten  girls  ready  for  their  lesson.  The 
women  thought  they  were  too  old  to  commence  to  learn 
to  read.  But  before  I  had  finished  with  the  little  ones 
they  were  looking  over  my  shoulder  at  the  letters,  and 
seemed  much  interested.  Their  ignorance  and  degrada- 
tion are  very  great.  It  seems  strange  to  them  that  we 
should  read.  They  need  to  be  taught  of  the  better  life. 
I  hope  this  winter  we  may  hear  many  of  them  inquir- 
ing what  they  shall  do  to  be  saved.  They  manifested 
a  great  deal  of  interest,  and  were  generally  regular  in 
their  attendance,  bringing  some  new  one  with  them 
nearly  every  time.     They  often  come  to  see  me.'^ 

Mrs.  Potter  writes,  under  date  of  October,  1883,  of 
her  work  among  Armenian  women :  "  Naturally,  the 
work  commences  and  the  interest  centres  among  those 
who  are  members  of  our  church ;  and,  very  happily, 
nearly  all  of  these  live  in  one  quarter  of  the  city,  near 
each  other.  Early  in  the  fall  we  called  upon  them 
preparatory  to  starting  a  weekly  prayer-meeting  to  be 


Armenian  Mother  and  Son.     Page  257. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  259 

held  from  house  to  house.  Most  of  the  women  ex- 
pressed great  willingness  to  attend  and  take  part  in  such 
a  service,  promising  to  do  all  they  could  to  sustain  it. 
Looking  back  now  over  the  months,  including  all  the 
meetings  in  one  glance,  I  think  I  can  say  they  have 
kept  their  word.  If  there  has  been  disappointment  at 
one  time,  there  has  been  encouragement  at  another.  A 
bright  spot  that  I  may  mention  is  the  interest  shown  by 
one  woman,  a  sister  of  the  wife  of  one  of  our  helpers. 
Her  husband  is  engaged  in  making  and  selling  wine, 
and  is  so  much  opposed  to  us  and  to  Protestantism  as  to 
have  even  destroyed  his  wife's  Testament  and  hymn-book 
some  few  years  ago,  forbidding  her  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  us.  Still,  she  managed  to  get  other  books,  and 
under  pretence  of  visiting  her  friends  would  frequent- 
ly come  to  the  preaching  services.  But  last  winter  she 
took  a  bolder  stand,  and  urged  that  we  should  hold  our 
prayer-meeting  at  her  home  in  its  turn.  We  saw  with 
great  delight  her  desire  to  hear  and  learn  the  truth. 
This  little  cluster  of  praying  women  met  together  regu- 
larly each  week  from  November  until  May,  with  one  or 
two  exceptions  when  bad  weather  or  sickness  prevented, 
and  we  think  there  was  a  perceptible  spiritual  growth 
among  them,  though  we  cannot  report  many  brought  into 
the  kingdom  of  those  entirely  unacquainted  with  its  truths, 
"  At  the  beginning  of  February  a  meeting  was  opened 
in  another  Armenian  quarter  of  the  city,  distant  fully  two 
miles  from  the  missionary's  house,  a  considerable  part 


260  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

of  the  way  being  through  the  bazars.  But  this  difficulty 
was  the  least  of  all  to  be  surmounted,  a  far  greater  one 
being  to  gain  access  to  the  hearts  of  the  women  them- 
selves, or  even  to  find  any  of  them  willing  to  listen.  Be- 
fore attempting  the  service  w^e  called  among  them  and 
asked  whether  they  would  like  to  have  it.  With  the 
native  politeness  and  (shall  I  say  it  ?)  lack  of  sincerity, 
their  answers  to  us  were  very  favorable.  But  on  the  day 
appointed  for  the  first  meeting  they  sent  us  a  message  to 
the  effect  that,  word  having  been  passed  about,  no  one 
was  ready  to  come.  Still,  we  persevered  in  going,  and 
were  encouraged  by  being  able  to  gather  together  eleven 
persons;  and  the  average  attendance  continued  to  be 
nearly  this  number  during  the  three  months,  notwith- 
standing the  prejudices  against  us  which  were  plainly 
felt  to  exist,  and  the  influence  of  those  who  adhered 
strongly  to  the  old  faith. 

^'  Sanam,  a  native  Christian  woman,  for  some  years  a 
pupil  in  our  girls'  school,  accompanied  us  to  these  meet- 
ings, partly  because  we  feel  that  she  is  qualified  for 
evangelical  work  and  are  desirous  to  help  her  take  it  up, 
and  also  that  she  might  introduce  us  into  homes  where 
we  were  unacquainted.  She  proved  to  be  of  great  as- 
sistance in  reading  the  portions  of  Scripture  selected  for 
the  day,  leading  in  prayer,  helping  to  sing  the  hymns 
and  sometimes  speaking  a  few  words.  After  the  meeting 
we  frequently  went  together  to  call  upon  some  one  whom 
she  knew  and  invite  her  to  attend  the  following  week. 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  261 

"An  incident  which  occurred  one  day  may  serve  to 
show  how  little  heart  some  of  them  had  in  the  mat- 
ter, and  how  well  satisfied  they  were  with  their  own 
spiritual  condition.  We  were  waiting  for  the  women  to 
assemble  when  an  old  woman  came  in  who  with  her 
daughter  had  repeatedly  been  invited  to  the  service. 
After  the  usual  salutations,  Sanam  inquired  for  the 
daughter.  Raising  her  voice  to  a  high  tone,  the  mother 
burst  forth  with,  ^  Why  should  she  come  ?  What  shall 
she  come  for  ?  Is  the  lady  going  to  give  us  money  ?' 
(This  last  word  she  fairly  shouted.)  Then  turning  to 
me  with  many  gestures,  still  speaking  at  the  top  of  her 
voice,  she  said,  '  Money  !  money  !  Give  us  money  ;  that 
is  what  we  want.  It  is  the  beginning  of  all  things; 
we  cannot  have  clothes  or  rice  or  anything  without 
money ;  give  us  that,  lady.^  She  was  told  that  if  she 
would  listen  she  would  receive  something  still  better 
than  money,  but  her  cry  was  still  the  same,  and  she  con- 
tinued to  shout  and  gesticulate  until  tlie  others,  coming 
in,  so  took  my  attention  that  she  was  obliged  to  stop. 
Now,  all  this  was  half  in  jest,  but  it  showed  most 
plainly  the  woman's  real  feelings,  that  money  was  worth 
more  to  her  than  any  teaching ;  nor  could  she  be  con- 
vinced that  there  was  anything  better  to  desire,  though 
plainly  told  that  one  who  was  nearing  the  grave,  as  she 
was,  should  be  far  more  careful  for  her  souFs  w^elfare 
than  for  getting  money,  which  she  could  not  take  with 
her.     Also,  a  poor  woman  coming  in  with  tears  running 


262  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

down  lier  cheeks,  carrying  a  sick  child  in  her  arms  and 
having  left  a  husband  at  home  crazy  with  delirium  tre- 
mens, afforded  a  good  opportunity  to  show  her  that  there 
are  troubles  which  even  money  cannot  alleviate.  But  it 
was  all  of  no  effect,  for  the  old  woman  left  the  house  as 
soon  as  she  saw  me  open  my  Testament.'' 

A  glimpse  of  the  interior  of  the  girls'  school  is  given 
in  the  following  quarterly  report  made  by  Miss  Bartlett. 
It  represents  the  last  quarter  of  the  year  1882,  but  vir- 
tually the  first  quarter  of  the  mission- work  for  1883  : 

"On  the  4th  of  October,  1882,  I  entered  our  school- 
room for  the  first  time,  and  I  wish  I  could  tell  you  how 
pleased  I  was  with  our  black-haired,  black-eyed  girls. 
Though  I  have  been  only  a  short  time  in  Persia,  would 
you,  dear  home-friends,  like  to  hear  some  of  my  first 
impressions  of  our  work  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  the  har- 
vest of  Persia  is  not  yet  ripe  for  the  gathering  of  golden 
sheaves,  but  that  much  of  the  toilsome,  weary  work  of 
preparation  and  seed-sowing  still  remains  to  be  done. 
But  in  our  own  special  field,  the  girls'  school,  much  of 
this  liarder  foundation-work  has  been  accomplished  by 
such  self-denying  labors  as  some  of  us  will  never  know. 

"The  school  is  not  yet  running  like  clock-work,  for 
there  are  not  enough  laborers  to  keep  all  the  parts  thor- 
ouglily  oiled ;  but  many  things  mark  steady  improve- 
ment. We  have  enrolled  during  this  last  quarter  34 
names.  This  is  not  many,  we  know,  but  it  is  sufficient 
increase  over  former  years  to  show  that  the  balance  tips 


i  i 

} 

\ 

^BB^^v                 "'  .>riXi\^^ 

Carepet  and  his  Wife  Victoria. 


Page  263. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  265 

to  the  riglit  side.  Of  this  number,  10  are  contract- girls  ; 
that  is,  girls  whose  parents  or  relatives  have  signed  their 
names  to  a  written  agreement,  thus  promising  them  to  us 
for  a  term  of  years,  not  less  than  five.  In  this  way  we 
gain  complete  control  over  them,  and  they  are  not  merely 
schola7'Sj  but  our  children,  to  be  cared  for  in  every  partic- 
ular. No,  we  are  not  proud  of  them  now,  but  we  hope 
to  be  some  day,  when  they  go  forth  to  throw  the  light 
of  Christian  womanhood  into  the  darkness  of  their  sur- 
roundings. 

"  We  were  glad  to  welcome  Sanam  and  Victoria  back 
as  day-scholars.  They  were  married  and  left  us  three 
years  ago,  and  have  now  returned,  each  seeking  work  for 
hands  and  hearts  left  idle  and  empty  by  the  death  of 
their  little  ones.  Their  husbands  are  two  of  our  most 
promising  helpers,  and  we  rejoice  not  only  to  see  these 
girls  striving  to  keep  step  with  them,  but  also  because 
we  think  it  will  have  some  influence  against  the  horrid 
custom  of  early  marriage  which  steals  away  our  girls  so 
soon. 

'^  But  the  company  that  gathers  in  our  schoolroom 
would  not  be  complete  without  mention  of  the  two 
women  of  our  household.  One  of  these,  Sushau,  is  an 
earnest  Christian,  a  member  of  the  church,  ^vho  has 
come  through  much  trouble  to  find  everlasting  peace. 
We  hear  with  gladness  of  her  meetings  and  talks  with 
the  girls,  for  we  think  her  influence  most  salutary.  If 
I  could  show  you  the  numerous   pairs  of  little  native 


266  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

stockings  out  at  toes  and  heels,  the  gaping  holes  made 
by  the  week's  wear  and  tear,  the  piles  of  plain  sewing 
waiting  to  be  done,  you  could  easily  guess  her  occupa- 
tion. During  this  quarter  we  received  the  first  money 
ever  paid  by  the  father  of  one  of  our  girls  for  current 
expenses. 

'^  As  our  earnest  desire  is  that  the  girls  may  become 
earnest  Christians  while  with  us,  much  attention  is  given 
to  religious  instruction,  Miss  Schenck  and  Mrs.  Potter 
each  having  a  daily  Bible-class  and  afternoon  meeting 
on  Sabbath.  I  cannot  help  in  this  way  now,  so  I  have 
several  English  classes,  hoping  that  if  I  fail  to  learn 
Armenian  we  may  still  be  able  to  talk  a  little.  Mrs. 
Potter  and  I  have  spent  a  good  many  hours  over  the 
sewing,  but  if  you  should  visit  us  you  might  not  believe 
it  unless  you  should  give  long  enough  notice  for  the  girls 
to  don  their  Sunday  dresses.  I  grumble  a  good  deal  be- 
cause the  parents  ask  for  their  children  so  often,  and 
when  once  out  of  the  house  we  have  no  idea  when  we 
shall  see  them  again ;  but  Miss  Schenck  can  laugh  at 
this  annoyance,  it  is  so  much  less  than  formerly. 

*^  The  week  of  prayer  called  us  for  a  while  from  our 
usual  duties,  and  besides  special  services  held  in  the  little 
prayer-room  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  city  we  had 
several  meetings  in  our  schoolroom.  We  exerted  our- 
selves to  keep  the  14  girls  who  remained  with  us  during 
the  holidays  both  busy  and  happy.  To  each  was  given 
a  new  dress,  and  they  sewed  industriously  and  merrily 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  267 

over  them,  thus  occupying  the  days,  and  in  the  evenings 
we  entertained  them  witli  games.  We  prepared  for  their 
Christmas,  the  18th  of  January,  a  little  Christmas-tree, 
which  really  looked  quite  pretty  trimmed  up  with  pop- 
corn, fancy  bags  filled  with  candy,  oranges,  picture- 
books,  English  and  Armenian  Testaments,  Bibles  and  a 
nice  woolen  dress  for  each  of  the  women.  Plenty  of 
time  "was  given  them  to  enjoy  it,  while  we  passed  boun- 
tiful refreshments  of  oranges,  popcorn  balls,  candy,  nuts 
and  figs.  The  delight  of  the  children  well  repaid  us  for 
our  trouble.  Last  week  the  day  of  prayer  for  schools 
was  observed,  and  nearly  the  whole  day  was  spent  in 
prayer  and  praise.  We  long  very  much  to  have  it  a 
marked  day  in  our  school,  that  the  girls  may  learn  to 
look  forward  to  it.  Some  of  our  girls  are  Christians, 
we  hope,  but  we  need,  more  than  I  can  tell  you,  an  out- 
pouring of  the  Spirit." 

During  the  winter  of  1883-84  special  religious  inter- 
est prevailed  in  the  girls'  school  and  in  the  congregation. 
The  attendance  at  the  public  services  on  Fridays  and 
Sabbaths  was  larger  than  ever  before.  The  number 
present  was  often  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  fifty. 
Of  these  as  many  as  fifty  or  sixty  were  Mohammedans, 
some  were  Jews  and  many  were  Armenians.  As  a  re- 
sult of  the  interest,  on  the  14th  of  May,  1884,  fourteen 
persons  united  with  the  church  in  Tehran.  Five  of 
these  were  pupils  of  the  girls'  school. 

During  the  summer  Mr.  Potter  and  Dr.  Torrence  with 


268  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION 

their  families  resided  in  Gulhek,  the  summer  retreat  of 
the  British  legation;  Mr.  Bassett  and  family  and  the 
girls^  school,  with  the  ladies  in  charge,  occupied  premises 
in  the  village  of  Tajreesh,  at  the  place  called  Aseaub,  or 
the  Mill.  Mr.  Bassett  remained  here  until  the  24th  of 
August,  1884,  preaching  on  Sabbaths  in  the  city  to  the 
native  church  and  congregation.  On  the  day  mentioned  he 
and  his  family  departed  for  the  United  States,  he  having 
some  mouths  previously  resigned  his  connection  with  the 
Board  and  the  mission,  to  take  effect  this  year.  The  reasons 
leading  him  to  take  this  step  were,  first,  the  educational 
wants  of  his  family — wants  which  could  not  be  met  in 
Persia ;  and,  secondly,  the  inadequate  support  furnished 
under  the  regulations  of  the  Board.  This  inadequacy 
has  since  been  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  salaries  of  the 
missionaries  in  Persia  have  been  very  materially  in- 
creased since  he  left  the  field.  At  this  time  a  reinforce- 
ment for  the  mission  was  expected  to  arrive  in  the  fall. 

A  few  statements  gathered  from  the  annual  report  of 
the  mission  with  reference  to  the  mission-work  of  the 
year  1884  will  be  pertinent  and  complete  the  record  up 
to  this  date. 

The  Rev.  T.  J.  Porter  and  wife  arrived  at  Tehran  on 
the  23d  of  October.  He  took  charge  of  the  services  of 
public  worship  in  English  for  the  remainder  of  the  year. 
The  Sabbath-school  was  continued  during  the  winter  and 
spring  and  until  the  hot  season,  when  it  was  dismissed 
until   fall.      The  averas^e   attendance   of  the   Sabbath- 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  269 

school  had  been  85.  Tlie  total  number  of  members 
received  to  the  Tehran  church  from  the  time  of  or- 
ganization in  1876  had  been,  including  those  persons 
received  this  year,  57.  The  membership  at  this  date 
was  38,  giving  a  loss  of  19  by  removals  and  deaths 
since  the  organization.  The  contributions  from  all 
sources  amounted  to  $419.  AVeekly  prayer-meetings 
for  native  women  were  held  by  Mrs.  Potter  in  the  Ar- 
menian quarter  of  town,  and  a  monthly  social  gathering 
of  native  women  was  held  in  the  fall  at  the  houses  of 
Mrs.  Potter  and  Mrs.  Torrence  alternately.  The  year 
was  a  prosperous  one  in  the  girls^  school.  The  whole 
number  enrolled  was  40 ;  the  average  attendance  of 
pupils,  31.  The  school  for  Jewish  girls  numbered  15 
pupils.  The  total  number  of  scholars  in  the  mission- 
schools  was  146.  Dr.  Torrence  reported  the  number  of 
patients  at  the  dispensary  during  the  year  to  be  2500. 
In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  the  dispensary  was  re- 
moved to  another  quarter  of  tlie  town,  owing  to  the 
danger  to  the  mission  families  from  infectious  diseases. 
Three  books  are  reported  as  having  been  published  in  the 
course  of  the  year — namely :  The  Shorter  Catechism,  trans- 
lated by  Mr.  Basse tt,  a  16mo  volume  of  65  pages  ;  a  new 
enlarged  edition  of  hymns  in  Persian,  translated  by  Mr. 
Bassett,  a  16mo  volume  of  67  pages ;  Pilgrim's  Progress, 
translated  by  J.  L.  Potter,  with  notes  and  index.  Each 
copy  contains  six  full-page  wood-cuts,  the  sheets  being 
furnished  at  cost  by  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publica- 


270  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

tion.  The  sales  of  Scriptures  were  1214  volumes,  and 
of  religious  text-books  418  volumes. 

A  summary  of  the  year's  work  in  Hamadan  is  made 
in  the  report  of  that  mission,  the  substance  of  which  is 
given  as  follows : 

"The  mission-work  at  Hamadan  has  been  impeded 
during  the  past  year  by  various  forms  of  opposition  on 
the  part  of  all  classes — Moslems,  Armenians  and  Jews. 
Notwithstanding  the  forces  working  against  them,  how- 
ever, the  missionaries  have  not  only  held  their  position, 
but  have  made  substantial  progress  in  their  work. 

"  As  heretofore,  two  services  have  been  held  each  Sab- 
bath in  the  Armenian  quarter  of  the  city  without  inter- 
ruption, the  aged  Nestorian  pastor  and  Mr.  Hawkes  con- 
ducting the  services.  The  church-building  hitherto  oc- 
cupied for  these  services — which,  by  the  way,  is  dark, 
dilapidated  and  uncomfortable — was  claimed  by  the  old 
Armenians,  and  through  the  enmity  of  certain  influential 
men  at  the  capital  was  given  over  by  the  authorities  to 
them.  The  Protestants  have  since  worshiped  in  private 
houses.  ^  We  have  made  this,'  writes  Mr.  Hawkes,  ^  the 
occasion  of  a  petition  to  the  Shah  for  permission  to  build 
a  new  chapel,  and  the  last  mail  brings  word  that  he  has 
granted  the  petition  and  made  a  contribution  of  400 
tomans  toward  the  erection  of  the  building.  The  prince- 
governor  came  to  see  the  chosen  location,  approved  of  it, 
and  ordered  that  work  should  commence  about  the  1st 
of  April.     We  hope  it  will  be  completed  before  next 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  271 

winter.'  The  Sunday-school  has  been  kept  up,  with 
110  names  on  the  roll  and  an  average  attendance  of  60. 
Services  among  the  Jews  have  been  attended  by  only  a 
small  number,  as  the  people  have  been  in  constant  fear 
of  persecution.  To  lessen  their  fears,  Pastor  Shimon 
has  taken  a  house  in  the  midst  of  their  homes,  and,  hav- 
ing accommodations  in  his  dwelling  both  for  preaching 
services  and  a  girls'  school,  it  is  hoped  that  they  both 
may  be  carried  on  without  interruption. 

"The  girls'  school  in  the  Armenian  quarter  is  the 
only  one  that  has  been  allowed  to  continue  its  course 
undisturbed  through  the  various  persecutions  of  the  year. 
Fifty-six  have  been  in  attendance.  Since  the  marriage 
of  Miss  Sherwood  to  the  Eev.  Mr.  Hawkes,  Miss  Mont>- 
gomery,  her  associate  in  the  school,  has  received  into  the 
building  ten  boarders.  Her  labors  in  the  supervision  of 
such  a  school,  requiring  unremitting  attention  upon  her 
part,  while,  at  the  same  time,  she  is  prosecuting  the  study 
of  both  Persian  and  Armenian,  it  will  be  readily  seen, 
must  be  very  arduous. 

"  The  boys'  high  school  has  been  sadly  interrupted, 
being  several  times  closed  by  government  order.  The 
Jewish  boys  have  thus  lost  much  time,  and  the  Ar- 
menians, although  generally  keeping  up  their  studies, 
have  not  made  the  progress  they  should  have  done.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Alexander  have  opened  a  boarding  department 
for  the  boys  in  an  unoccupied  room  in  their  house. 
They  have  had  six  under  their  care.     Another  school, 


272  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

for  Jewish  boys  only,  has  been  started  during  the  past 
year.  There  are  in  it  some  50  boys,  but  the  disturbances 
prevailing  have  had  their  influence  upon  this  also. 

"  A  school  started  by  Mrs.  Alexander  for  girls  in  the 
Jewish  quarter  was  soon  stopped  by  the  government. 
The  number  enrolled  reached  25.  The  immediate  cause 
of  the  closing  was  a  prayer-meeting  started  in  the  same 
room  at  the  urgent  request  of  the  neighbors.  It  imme- 
diately stirred  up  the  prejudices  of  the  leading  Jews. 

"  Dr.  E.  W.  Alexander  has  rendered  valuable  service 
to  the  many  natives  who  have  sought  his  help  through 
the  year,  notwithstanding  the  violent  opposition  of  the 
native  doctors,  who,  while  secretly  admitting  the  virtue 
of  foreign  medicine,  say  that  they  must  shut  out  the  for- 
eigners as  long  as  possible.  Both  he  and  Mrs.  Alexander 
claim  our  deep  sympathy  because  of  the  successive  forms 
of  sickness  with  which  she  has  been  afflicted,  having 
long  suffered  from  a  low  form  of  fever  and  also  from  an 
attack  of  smallpox,  which  was  at  one  time  raging  in  the 
city.  The  health  of  the  other  missionaries  has  been  al- 
most uninterruptedly  good." 

A  review  of  the  foregoing  statements  shows  that  the 
total  number  of  pupils  in  all  the  schools  of  the  Eastern 
Persia  Mission  at  this  date  was  276,  including  15  schol- 
ars in  the  school  in  Rasht.  Regular  congregations  were 
sustained  in  three  cities  and  one  village.  The  number 
of  congregations  was  6,  with  an  average  attendance  of 
about  175  in  all.     The  Sabbath-school  attendants  num- 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  273 

bered  about  250.  The  congregation  of  English-speaking 
people  is  not  included  in  this  estimate. 

Miss  Schenck,  in  her  quarterly  report  of  April,  1884, 
writes  of  tlie  girls'  school : 

"  Several  of  our  girls  have  been  Christians,  no  doubt, 
for  some  length  of  time,  and  it  is  our  joy  to  rejoice  in 
recognizing  their  gradual  quiet  growth  into  an  ever 
higher  degree  of  piety,  as  evidenced  in  the  formation 
of  Christian  character,  the  questions  of  conscience  from 
thoughtful  ones,  the  response  from  the  face  indicative 
of  unexpressed  concern  within,  and  the  unhidden,  in- 
terested anxiety  for  the  spiritual  condition  of  parents 
still  ignorant  of  the  true  spirit  and  intent  of  Christ's 
gospel. 

*'  Some  of  the  girls  are  touchingly  moved  to  take  the 
occasion  of  calls  [of  parents]  on  reception-day  to  read 
the  Bible  to  their  parents,  unabashed  by  the  presence  of 
others.  One  dear  child  even  followed  up  this  reading 
by  putting  in  her  father's  pocket  a  previously-written 
note  for  him  to  spell  out  at  his  leisure  at  home,  and,  we 
trust,  to  be  moved  by  its  plain  words  and  bold — for  a 
daughter  in  this  land  to  say  to  her  father — to  be  con- 
cerned for  his  own  soul  as  his  child  is  for  it. 

"  Other  girls,  more  recently  entered,  seem  almost  im- 
mediately to  show  in  face  and  conduct  an  acquiescence 
in  the  teachings  and  a  readiness  to  assume  their  duty,  as 
shown  to  them  in  God's  word,  before  they  are  able  to  read 
it  for  themselves.    These  Christian  girls  are  with  us,  and 

15 


274  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

growing  in  their  Christian  life.  As  we  pray  regularly 
right  through  the  roll  for  them,  one  by  one,  as  is  our 
custom,  our  faith  grasps  the  promises  of  God  for  them. 

"  But  these  poor  children  are  not  blessed  with  pious 
parents — far  from  it.  Some  of  these,  especially  the 
mothers,  are  wicked  in  heart  and  life,  and  they  wish  and 
expect  their  daughters  to  be  the  same.  Indeed,  the  only 
motive  of  some  in  putting  their  girls  with  us  is  the  hope 
that  it  may  prove  a  time  of  preparation  for  them  to  gain 
money  by  selling  them  without  marriage.  We  may  be 
brought  to  face  the  fact  that  neither  we  nor  the  girl  can 
stand  against  the  power  of  a  wicked  mother  to  dispose  as 
she  will  of  her  child. 

"  Can  you,  in  view  of  these  facts,  appreciate  the  per- 
plexity with  which  we  meet  a  question  that  is  much  in 
our  thoughts  and  prayers — that  of  receiving  the  girls 
into  church-membership  ?  This  in  Christian  lands  is  a 
simple,  straightforward  matter,  the  first  presented  and 
acknowledged  duty  and  privilege  of  a  convert  to  claim 
the  blessings  of  full  membership  in  the  visible  Church. 
Duty  here,  in  such  cases,  is  a  complicated  question. 
Who  is  wise  enough  to  decide  it  ?  Since  children  of  God 
may  be  saved  out  of  the  Church,  is  it  expedient  to  risk 
bringing  reproach  upon  the  Church,  rather  than  wait  a 
few  years,  if  need  be,  for  developments  in  their  future 
life  ?  Our  experience  leads  us  to  choose  the  safer  course 
of  not  hurrying  them  into  the  churches. 

"Many  show  much  interest  in  their  lessons.      The 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  275 

progress  in  most  cases  is  commendable.  Some,  from  not 
having  any  idea  how  to  hold  a  pen,  have  in  a  short  time 
learned  to  write  a  fair  hand.  But  they  are  chips  of  the 
old  blocks,  after  all,  and  have  some  queer  ways  to  which 
they  cling,  such  as  putting  away  their  books,  bread 
and  treasures  under  the  carpets  (carpets  here  are  not 
tacked  down)  and  tying  up  clothing  in  a  big  cloth, 
though  nice  little  chests  and  shelves  and  hooks  are  pro- 
vided for  their  use.  We  are  still  suffering  the  incon- 
venience of  having  no  desks  for  our  schoolroom. 

^'  Having  three  lady-teachers  present  this  winter  has 
enabled  us  to  make  marked  progress  in  English  instruc- 
tion. The  examination  was  entirely  in  English,  except 
a  Catechism  of  Bible  history  in  Armenian.  The  classes 
were  practical,  and  mental  arithmetic,  algebra,  geography, 
dictation  and  grammar,  with  children's  motion-songs 
interspersed.  Rewards  of  English  Bibles  were  given  to 
six  girls  for  committing  the  Catechism  for  Young  Chil- 
dren in  English.  At  present  most  of  the  teaching  is  oral 
and  without  books,  though  w^e  expect  gradually,  as  they 
get  more  command  of  the  language,  to  have  them  use 
books. 

"  One  of  our  church  elders  has  a  weekly  class  of  the 
older  girls,  the  time  of  which  he  is  now  employing  in 
teaching  and  explaining  the  Church  covenant. 

^^  Our  household  has  been  greatly  blessed  in  health 
during  this  winter  of  unusual  sickness  and  frequent 
death.     Indeed,  wath  grateful  hearts  we  record  the  fact 


276  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

that  our  school  has  never  been  visited  with  a  really  seri- 
ous case  of  illness.  Did  Easter  come  oftener  than  once 
a  year,  we  fear  such  would  cease  to  be  true,  for  the 
quantity  of  eggs  that  a  school  full  of  girls  can  boil,  color 
and  otherwise  dispose  of  is  enough  to  do  away  with  all 
hope  of  good  health  for  some  time  to  come.  However, 
our  experience  with  picnics  as  an  antidote  for  hard-boiled 
eggs  has  so  far  proved  successful.  This  year  we  tried 
an  extra  large  dose,  going  a  mile  outside  of  the  city — not 
to  such  woods,  however,  as  American  children  have  for 
picnicking.  Oh  no !  Woods  are  unknown  about  Teh- 
ran. But  the  Shah  and  such  other  men  as  are  rich 
enough  plant  gardens  in  the  desert,  and  build  high  mud 
walls  around  them,  and  dig  ditches  through  which  the 
water  is  brought  down  from  the  mountains  to  water  the 
garden,  and  so  trees  are  coaxed  to  grow.  And  some- 
times, by  paying  the  gardener  who  takes  care  of  it,  we 
can  get  permission,  as  we  did  this  time,  to  spend  the 
day  in  his  garden.  But  he  looks  rather  nonplussed 
when  he  unlocks  and  opens  the  great  gate,  and  thinks 
what  injury  all  these  forty  folk  and  nine  donkeys  are 
likely  to  do  to  his  fruit  trees  if  permitted  to  run  wild  in 
his  garden.  So  the  girls,  instead  of  having  entire  free- 
dom, have  to  be  cautioned  to  be  careful  and  play  in  the 
broad  paths.  But  what  with  getting  up  their  swing  and 
using  it  to  their  hearts'  content,  and  eating  several  lunches, 
and  the  fun  of  riding  the  donkeys  up  and  down  through 
the  garden,  and  some  riding  while  the  others  walked 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  277 

back  to  the  city,  as  we  had  gone  out  in  the  morning,  we 
•were  about  as  tired  a  set  as  if  our  picnic  had  been  in  the 
old  orthodox  American  style. 

"  We  are  indebted  for  two  boxes  from  Erie  Presby- 
terial  Society,  and  could  the  kind  friends  know  the 
help  and  impulse  given  to  our  social  hour,  as  shown 
in  the  greater  amount  and  better  work  accomplished 
since  its  arrival,  they  would  be  sufficiently  repaid  and 
thanked. 

"The  gift  of  a  magic-lantern  from  Iowa  has  been 
much  appreciated  by  the  girls. 

"  Two  boxes  with  very  acceptable  contents  and  of 
most  helpful  character  were  also  received  from  different 
bands  and  auxiliaries  of  the  Philadelphia  society.  Could 
the  makers  of  that  clothing  see  the  neat  appearance  of 
our  girls,  and  appreciate  the  actual  labor  saved  to  us  by 
their  sending  it  all  ready  to  put  on,  they  would  under- 
stand how  we  prize  their  boxes,  better  than  by  any  words 
we  can  write." 

The  yearns  work  of  the  girls'  school  is  reviewed  by 
Miss  Sarah  Bassett  in  the  annual  report,  under  date 
of  October,  1884,  as  follows : 

"  It  is  my  duty  as  well  as  pleasure  to  review  the  past 
year,  not  only  for  our  own  benefit,  but  also  that  our 
friends  may  know  what  we  have  striven  to  accomplish. 

"The  last  day  of  October,  1883,  found  me  again  in 
Tehran,  after  an  absence  of  eighteen  months,  ready  and 
glad  to  resume  my  share  of  duties  which  had  rested 


278  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

heavily  ou  shoulders  not  able  to  carry  such  a  burden, 
however  willing  they  might  be. 

"  Classes  were  soon  formed,  and  during  the  winter 
there  were  daily  recitations  in  arithmetic,  both  mental 
and  practical,  algebra,  geography,  reading,  writing, 
grammar  and  dictation  in  the  English  language,  while 
the  Bible  was  studied  in  the  Armenian.  Afternoons 
were  spent  by  the  girls  in  studying  Armenian  and  Per- 
sian with  a  native  teacher,  and  part  of  the  year  French. 
Evenings  were  devoted  to  what  was  called  the  English 
social  hour,  at  which  time  fancy-work  was  taught  and 
English  spoken. 

"  The  week  of  prayer  was  duly  observed,  besides  the 
regular  public  services,  which  the  girls  were  able  to  at- 
tend only  part  of  the  time,  owing  to  the  rain  and  to  the 
meetings  being  on  the  west  side  of  the  city  some  dis- 
tance from  us :  the  missionaries  each  met  the  girls  in  the 
schoolroom  and  pointed  out  the  way  of  life  in  plain  lan- 
guage, to  which  the  girls  listened  attentively  and  after- 
results  proved  that  they  were  profited  thereby. 

"  The  Armenian  New  Year  and  Christmas  were  each 
noticed  and  celebrated  in  a  way  to  delight  the  hearts  of 
the  children,  especially  the  latter  day.  Upon  it  the 
girls  were  invited  to  see  a  beautiful  tree  the  ladies  had 
dressed  for  their  pleasure  with  lovely  gifts  sent  by  kind 
friends  in  the  home-land  for  such  occasions.  The  mis- 
sionaries, with  our  United  States  minister,  his  wife  and 
daughter,  were  invited  to  witness  the  giving  of  the  gifts 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  279 

to  the  girls.  It  was  very  gratifying  to  have  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Benjamin  express  so  heartily  their  surprise  and 
pleasure  in  what  they  saw  to  commend  in  our  school. 
Such  times  have  their  mission  of  encouragement  to  us, 
marking  as  they  do  our  growth  and  progress  in  num- 
bers, manner  and  appearance. 

"  The  day  of  prayer  for  schools  was  not  forgotten,  but 
was  observed  by  religious  exercises  from  morning  until 
evening,  and,  from  studying  the  faces  of  the  pupils,  we 
could  not  but  feel  they  were  thoughtfully  and  earnestly 
striving  to  make  the  day  one  which  would  never  be 
forgotten. 

"  May  18th  our  hearts  were  gladdened  by  seeing  five 
of  our  girls  unite  with  the  church,  thus  acknowledging 
their  love  for  the  Saviour  and  desire  to  glorify  him. 
Very  earnestly  we  pray  that  their  example  may  be  such 
as  will  lead  their  fi-iencls  and  schoolmates  to  Christ. 

"During  May  and  in  July  the  girls  were  taken  for 
picnics  to  gardens  near  the  city.  In  this  way  we  strive 
to  give  them  the  change  they  need  and  still  keep  them 
with  us.  The  wet  spring,  followed  by  unusually  cool 
summer  weather,  made  us  hopeful  of  more  than  usual 
comfort  during  the  hot  months,  and  that  we  would  be 
able  to  continue  the  lessons  and  accomplish  much  sew- 
ing. But  early  in  July  there  were  indications  of  poor 
health  among  the  girls,  which  resulted  in  some  serious 
illness  and  interfered  with  our  plans.  Among  the  cases 
very  like  scarlet  fever  one  case  of  smallpox  was  devel- 


280  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

oped,  which  was  iniraediately  removed  to  a  rented  house, 
with  nurses  hired  to  care  for  her.  The  remaining  pu- 
pils were  sent  to  a  garden  not  far  from  the  city,  with 
two  elders  and  their  families,  to  await  results.  After 
fifteen  days'  quarantine  and  no  one  being  ill,  we  all  re- 
moved to  a  garden  at  Tajreesh.  July  29th,  after  an  ill- 
ness of  three  weeks,  Aroosiag  Hargobiau  died.  She  was 
one  of  our  brightest  and  best  little  girls,  loved  by  all  her 
schoolmates  as  well  as  her  teachers. 

"The  two  months  in  the  country  were  spent  busily 
sewing,  and  during  that  time  four  hundred  yards  of 
cloth  and  muslin  were  transformed  into  one  hundred 
and  forty  garments.  Some  of  the  girls  were  taught  to 
cut  and  fit  and  to  sew  on  the  sewing-machine,  thus  being 
of  use  to  us,  and  preparing  them,  should  it  be  necessary, 
to  earn  their  livelihood  in  this  city,  where  machines  are 
becoming  abundant. 

"  Our  whole  number  of  pupils  enrolled  during  the 
year  has  been  40,  with  an  average  attendance  of  32. 
We  were  made  the  recipients  during  the  year  of  four 
boxes,  filled  with  clothing  and  materials  for  our  work  in 
the  social  hour,  from  friends  in  the  home-land.  Thus 
the  year  has  passed  with  all  its  trials  and  pleasures,  and 
we  have  entered  upon  a  new  year  with  34  names  enrolled 
and  new  studies  begun." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Methods  of  Mission-Labor  in  Persia,  especially  Eastern  Persia — 
Methods  Modified  by  the  Condition  of  the  People — The  Romantic 
Method — Finding  a  Congregation — Henry  Marty n's  Experience 
— Street-Preaching  not  Attempted  in  Mohammedan  Villages — 
Practicable  in  Christian  Villages — Obstacles  to  Gathering  Con- 
gregations— Intolerance  of  Islam — Opposition  of  the  Priests — 
Too  Sensitive  a  Conscience — Time-honored  Religions — Protest- 
antism too  Honest — Power  and  Futility  of  Controversy — Other 
Methods  Essential — Interested  and  Disinterested  Motives — Desire 
for  Education  and  Power  of  Schools — Permanent  Congregations, 
how  Formed — Difficulty  in  the  Way  of  Obtaining  Native  Preach- 
ers— Nestorian  Preachers — Armenians  of  Eastern  Persia — As- 
sistants to  be  Trained — Religious  Services — Persians  accustomed 
to  Public  Worship — Habits  of  Reverence— Preaching — Music — 
Influence  of  Sacred  Song — The  Organ — Matter  of  Preaching — 
Doctrines  of  Religion — Objectionable  Doctrines — The  Ale  Alla- 
hees — Effect  of  the  Peculiarities  of  the  Persian  Religion  on  the 
Relations  of  Persians  to  Christianity — Imitation  of  Christian 
Doctrine,  and  Assumptions — Resemblance  to  Rome — Revulsion 
from  Rome — Conflict  of  the  Gospel  and  Sheahism — Method  of 
Successful  Approach — Preparatory  Instruction  of  Converts — Cir- 
culation of  the  Scriptures — Instances  of  the  Influence  of  the 
Bible — The  Circulation  of  Other  Books — Pfander's  Works — 
Books  in  the  Armenian  Language — Kind  of  Books  Needed — 
Use  of  Medical  Missions — Special  Efforts  for  Persian  Women  by 
Christian  Women. 


T 


HE   methods   of    missionary   labor   are   necessarily 
modified  in  different  lauds  by  the  condition  of  the 


281 


282  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

people  to  whom  that  labor  is  directed.  There  are 
marked  resemblances,  however,  in  the  methods  followed 
in  all  lauds.  Social  and  religious  laws,  climate,  lan- 
guage, and  even  the  material  resources  of  the  people, 
aflPect  in  some  way  the  agencies  for  reaching  the  popu- 
lace. One  of  the  first  questions  proposed  in  every  new 
mission-field  is,  '^How  shall  a  congregation  be  ob- 
tained ?''  The  question  is  pretty  well  understood  by 
all  who  are  informed  on  mission-work.  But  it  is  not 
always  suggested  as  one  that  may  have  any  perplexity 
about  it.  In  the  old  fields  the  congregations  are  gath- 
ered. But  in  a  new  work,  like  that  to  be  opened  in 
Tehran,  the  question  remained  to  be  answered.  The 
romantic  notion  of  early  missionary  efforts  had  no  place 
here,  for  the  intolerant  spirit  and  laws  of  the  country 
are  too  evident  for  any  one  to  be  deceived  or  to  remain 
in  doubt  as  to  the  practicability  of  that  idea.  The  notion 
once  prevailed  that  the  missionary  had  only  to  acquire 
the  language  of  the  country,  and  then  go  upon  the  street 
to  preach,  in  order  to  get  hearers.  There  are  many 
young  men  entering  the  foreign  work  who  seem  not  to 
have  given  thought  to  this  subject,  and  are  not  unde- 
ceived until  they  reach  a  foreign  shore  and  undertake  to 
find  their  congregations.  Henry  Martyn  writes  of  the 
great  difference  between  his  fond  expectation  of  having 
crowds  of  poor  Indians  to  hear  him  preach,  and  the 
reality  as  he  found  it  in  his  labors.  There  are  some 
countries  where  the  missionary  may  regularly  go  to  the 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  283 

market  or  the  street  and  preach,  but  he  cannot  do  so  in 
Tehran  nor  in  any  other  city  of  a  mixed  population  in 
Persia.  It  has  not  been  attempted,  so  far  as  I  know,  by 
any  one  to  preach  in  the  bazar  or  maidon.  The  fact  that 
it  has  not  been  done  is  evidence  of  some  good  reason 
why  it  has  not  been  attempted.  This  method  may  possi- 
bly be  practicable  in  the  near  future,  but  has  not  been 
in  the  past,  and  is  thought  to  be  impracticable  now. 
The  reason  that  it  is  so  is  the  intolerance  and  fanaticism 
of  the  Mohammedans.  This  method  is  entirely  practi- 
cable in  the  Armenian  and  Jewish  communities,  but  where 
there  is  a  Mohammedan  population  any  public  effort  of 
this  sort  would  be  understood  by  mullahs  and  by  priests 
to  be  a  bold  attempt  to  proselyte.  No  one  could  pursue 
this  course  without  violence  to  the  common  law  of  the 
land  nor  without  exciting  a  mob.  It  is  possible  that  one 
or  two  efforts  on  this  plan  might  be  successful,  but  no 
one  acquainted  with  the  people  would  have  any  hope  of 
being  able  to  keep  up  the  practice  of  preaching  in  the 
public  places.  In  every  instance  where  the  missionary 
meets  the  people  for  the  first  time,  he  is  certain  to  have 
an  audience  drawn  by  the  powerful  motive  of  curiosity. 
But  when  the  preaching  has  ceased  to  be  a  new  thing, 
the  hearers  will  be  wanting.  There  are  many  reasons 
why  this  is  so.  In  the  beginning  of  effort  among  the  old 
Christian  sects  the  priests  and  bishops  usually  oppose  and 
intimidate  their  people.  The  priests  of  all  orders  have 
great  power.     They  can  refuse  to  administer  the  sacra- 


284  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

ments  and  can  inflict  stripes.  Until  recently  they  could 
imprison  the  disobedient.  They  can  threaten  the  erring 
with  excommunication  in  this  life  and  witli  the  pains  of 
hell  for  ever.  The  effect  of  their  threats  is  invariably 
to  prevent  the  greater  part  of  their  people  from  affil- 
iating with  Protestants.  So  far  as  gatherings  of  Moham- 
medans are  concerned  with  mission-labor,  these  are  re- 
garded as  wholly  impracticable.  I  have  never  seen  a 
Mohammedan  who  would  think  of  resisting  the  order 
of  a  mujtaheed  with  reference  to  adherence  to  Christians. 
X  Even  converted  Mohammedans  would  consider  it  neces- 
sary to  flee  for  their  lives  should  they  receive  any  intima- 
tion from  a  mujtaheed  that  they  were  suspected  of  enter- 
taining the  sentiments  of  Christians. 

But  there  is  a  more  potent  influence  to  overcome  than 
the  intolerance  and  violence  of  mujtaheeds  and  priests. 
It  is  the  natural  dislike  of  the  reproof  of  sin,  a  disquiet- 
ed conscience.  A  Persian  who  frequently  came  to  our 
chapel  suddenly  ceased  to  attend  the  services.  I  asked 
him  why  it  was  that  one  who  had  appeared  so  attentive 
for  a  time  should  stay  away  so  long.  He  replied,  "  That 
which  I  hear  makes  me  feel  uncomfortable ;  it  makes 
me  dissatisfied  with  myself  and  my  religion,  and  there- 
fore I  stay  away.'' 

It  is  one  marked  feature  of  the  first  efforts  for  these 
people,  while  as  yet  a  congregation  and  church  are  un- 
formed, that  so  many  persons  never  come  to  hear  the 
word  more  than  two  or  three  times.     Crowds  will  come 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  285 

80  long  as  they  fail  to  perceive  the  exact  object  of  the 
preacher.  As  soon  as  they  begin  to  understand  the 
spiritual  and  moral  nature  of  the  requirements  made, 
they  begin  to  be  offended.  How  could  we  reasonably 
look  for  any  other  result?  They  find  all  their  old 
grounds  of  trust  dissolving ;  their  good  works  are  seen 
to  be  of  no  account.  They  find  that  they  must  undergo 
a  terrible  trial :  they  have  to  meet  the  scorn  and  opposi- 
tion of  the  priests  to  whom  they  have  from  infancy  been 
trained  to  look  for  instruction,  and  who  are  believed  to 
possess  the  "  power  of  opening  and  closing  the  gates  of 
heaven ;"  they  have  to  meet  a  great  deal  of  social  ostra- 
cism ;  the  new  belief  divides  the  house  and  sets  the 
members  of  the  household  one  against  another.  But  a 
more  powerful  motive  than  these  considerations  remains, 
strong  as  the  other  facts  may  be :  it  is  the  fact  that  they 
must  give  up  their  own  time-honored  and  cherished  re- 
ligion and  their  only  hope  of  salvation.  Said  a  Persian 
mullah  who  had  considered  the  alternative  presented  by 
our  preaching :  ''  I  see  that  if  I  become  a  Christian  I 
must  cease  to  believe  in  Mohammed  as  the  prophet  of 
God.  No,  I  cannot  do  that.  I  have  trusted  him  too 
long  to  desert  him  now.  If  need  be  I  will  sink  with  ^ 
him  to  the  bottom  of  hell." 

But  the  conscience  is  quite  as  much  against  the  preacher 
as  is  the  old  religious  trust.  Said  a  Persian  to  me,  "  When 
I  hear  you  preach  I  feel  that  I  must  cease  to  lie  and  to 
steal  and  to  do  other  sinful  things.     But  I  cannot  afford 


286  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

to  quit  these  sins.  I  cannot  make  a  living  in  this  coun- 
try if  I  attempt  to  Hve  as  you  teach  us  to  live ;  so  I  do 
not  like  to  hear  about  these  things." — '^But  you/'  I 
said,  ^^are  a  professed  Christian,  an  Armenian;  does  not 
your  own  Bible  teach  you  clearly  what  you  must  do  ?'' 
— "  Yes,"  he  replied,  "  but  my  religion  assures  me  that 
if  I  do  commit  these  sins  I  can  atone  for  them  by  giv- 
ing the  priest  a  karan  or  by  fasting.  But  if  I  become  a 
Protestant  there  is  no  alternative ;  I  must  quit  my  lying 
and  cursing  and  stealing.  I  am  not  yet  ready  to  do  that. 
When  I  get  to  be  rich  enough  to  live  honestly,  then  I 
will  become  a  Protestant." 

Under  the  power  of  these  motives  nearly  every  mis- 
sionary's congregation  disappears,  in  great  part,  after  the- 
first  impulse  of  curiosity  has  ceased  in  the  people.  A 
very  few  persons,  of  all  who  came  at  first,  may  stand  by 
him.  One  or  two  may  believe ;  the  multitude  have  de- 
serted him.  If  now  he  resort  to  no  other  means  of 
reaching  and  holding  the  people  but  his  public  preach- 
ing, what  will  he  do  for  hearers?  I  know  native  Nes- 
torian  and  Armenian  preachers  in  the  employ  of  the 
mission  who  at  first  had  full  houses,  but  who  in  a  few 
weeks  could  muster  no  other  hearers  than  the  members 
of  their  own  families.  If  the  missionary  will  have  a 
discussion  with  the  priests  or  the  mullahs,  he  can  draw 
a  crowd  until  the  congregations  are  dispersed  by  a  mob 
and  a  row  or  until  the  authorities  interfere  to  prevent 
the  mob.     But  the  controversy,  if  possible  at  all,  must 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  3IISSI0N.  287 

soon  end,  and  the  missionary  must  rely  on  something 
more  permanent  and  profitable.  Many  missionaries  who 
have  tried  the  public  debate  have  had  no  hearers  to  show 
when  the  discussion  had  ceased.  I  have  known  also  mis- 
sionaries whose  "  polity  "  was  to  rely  solely  on  preaching 
as  the  missionary  agency,  and  who  opposed  schools  and 
secular  helps,  who  in  time  had  no  occasion  to  preach  at 
all,  solely  because  they  could  find  no  one  to  preach  to. 
I  have  noticed  that  such  persons  are  quite  willing  to 
preach  to  a  congregation  composed  of  the  pupils  of  a 
school  and  their  parents,  however  much  they  may  be 
opposed  on  principle  to  mission-schools.  A  knowledge 
of  the  language  of  the  country,  fluency  of  speech,  learn- 
ing, and  even  deep  piety  and  consecration,  are  of  no  avail 
to  remedy  the  difficulty.  It  is  as  deeply  seated  as  human 
depravity  and  as  strongly  intrenched  as  a  false  religion. 
Under  these  conditions  the  missionary  is  depressed  and 
mortified.  He  learns  that  method  has  something  to  do 
with  successful  fishing  for  men.  He  learns  now,  if  he 
has  not  known  it  before  this,  that  there  is  another  kind 
of  preaching  and  exposition  of  the  gospel  besides  that 
of  words.  It  is  the  preaching  by  acts  of  beneficence 
and  by  teaching  and  by  social  life.  Satan  is  not  all-wise 
and  omnipresent ;  he  cannot  spend  his  strength  at  every 
point  of  approach.  He  has  done  his  work  thoroughly 
in  the  human  heart  on  the  strictly  religious  side  of  it ; 
he  has  strongly  fortified  his  position  of  defence  there. 
Christ  drew  multitudes  to  his  preaching  by  the  hope  of 


288  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

worldly  gain  of  some  sort.  Not  that  he  offered  wealth 
or  material  gains.  Quite  the  contrary.  But  he  at- 
tracted the  people  by  working  miracles  and  by  his  very 
remarkable  claims  to  Messiahship. 

In  Persia  there  are  some  persons  who  come  to  the 
missionary  with  sincere  desire  of  knowing  what  he  has 
to  impart  of  religious  knowledge.  ^A  few  persons  are 
naoved  with  dissatisfaction  with  the  prevalent  religions. 
/The  great  majority  are  swayed  by  considerations  of  some 
secular  gain.  Many  persons  are  so  desirous  of  having 
their  children  obtain  the  benefit  of  such  secular  knowl- 
edge as  the  missionaries  can  impart  that  they  are  will- 
ing to  take  the  risk  of  Protestant  influence  over  them. 
Some  of  them  look  forward  to  employment  by  Europeans 
for  their  children.  Education  is  seen  to  be  a  great  help. 
The  influence  gained  with  Persians  by  social  intercourse 
is  one  that  is  unconsciously  felt.  By  means  of  schools 
the  attendance  of  the  scholars  on  the  services  of  public 
worship  is  secured.  Here  is  given  a  permanent  nucleus 
of  a  congregation.  jSocial  influences  draw  other  persons, 
and  the  employees  of  the  mission  are  required,  if  re- 
quirement be  necessary,  to  attend  the  religious  services. 
A  permanent  congregation  and  church  are  in  time  built 
up  out  of  these  elements,  with  an  increasing  power  to 
draw  to  itself  by  means  of  the  associations  of  its  mem- 
bers. As  the  missionaries  become  known,  opposition  in 
time  dies  out  or  is  futile.  After  the  first  struggles  the 
natives  gain  confidence  and  venture  more  in  connection 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  289 

with  the  work.  Such  is  the  usual  course  of  growth  to 
the  missions  in  Persia.  In  no  marked  instance  Jms-tkere 
ieen^  great. turning  of  the  people  to  Christ.  The 
growUi  haj?  te!irtire"result  of  patient  toiTcontinued  year 
by  year.  The  people  of  Eastern  Persia  have  offered  no 
great  opportunities  for  gain  by  means  of  so-called  re- 
vival labors.  Public  preaching  for  Mohammedans  has 
been,  as  I  have  shown,  in  most  places  impracticable. 
The  Christian  communities  where  such  effort  might  be 
possible  are  very  few,  and  the  people,  except  in  the  man- 
ner stated,  have  been  disinclined  to  Protestant  views. 
The  Armenians  are  not  gathered  in  large  communities  in 
this  part  of  Persia.  In  truth,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
non-Mohammedans  are  not  concentrated  in  large  num- 
bers in  any  part  of  the  country.  Jews  have  come  in  the 
way  of  our  missionary  work  in  Tehran,  Haraadan  and 
Mash  had  only.  The  ingatherings  of  great  revivals  on 
mission-fields  seem  to  come  only  after  years  of  labor. 
The  time  since  the  beginning  of  the  Eastern  Mission  has 
been  the  period  of  sowing  and  of  prepamtion,  the  time 
of  laying  foundations  and  opening  of  highways.  But 
these  years  have  not  been  without  important  results. 
What  these  are  has  been  shown  in  the  course  of  this 
narrative. 

It  was  thought  to  be  desirable  to  employ  native  preach- 
ers and  teachers  as  assistants  of  the  missionaries  in  the 
opening  of  the  mission.  But  great  difficulty  was  ex- 
perienced in  obtaining  the  right  kind  of  men  for  thLs 

16 


290  FEESIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

service.  At  first  it  was  welliiigh  impossible  to  get  a 
Nestoriaii  preacher  for  either  Tehran  or  Hamadan. 
There  were  two  reasons  for  this  :  One  was  that  few  or 
none  of  the  Nestorians  are  acquainted  with  the  Persian 
or  the  Armenian  language.  They  were,  therefore,  un- 
able to  labor  efficiently  with  either  the  Mohammedans  or 
the  Armenians  of  Eastern  Persia.  All  the  Nestoriaus  who 
at  any  time  have  attempted  to  preach  in  this  section  of 
the  country  have  used  the  Turkish  language,  with  which 
some  of  the  people  of  this  region  have  acquaintance. 
Another  reason  was  the  fact  that  Nestorians  preferred, 
very  naturally,  to  remain  with  their  own  people  in 
Western  Persia,  there  being  none  of  this  race  in  the 
eastern  part.  It  was  found  to  be  impracticable  to  bring 
Armenian  assistants  from  the  Armenian  communities  of 
Turkey  for  many  reasons  :  The  work  among  their  own 
people  created  a  demand  for  nearly  all  who  were  pre- 
pared to  preach ;  the  very  few  who  might  be  obtained 
had  no  knowledge  of  Persian ;  and  the  distance  to  be 
traveled  by  them  to  reach  the  field  was  so  great  as  to 
make  the  change  expensive  and  of  very  doubtful  expe- 
diency. The  only  assistants  available  were  the  Arme- 
nians of  Eastern  Persia,  and  none  of  these  had  been 
trained  in  mission-schools  or  under  our  influence.  They 
were  unconverted  men,  but  some  of  them  were  fairly 
well  qualified  by  schools  which  they  had  attended,  and 
they  were  specially  fitted  to  do  service  by  their  knowl- 
edge of  the  Persian  tongue  and  the  Armenian  language 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  291 

as  spoken  iu  this  part  of  the  land.  Several  Armenians 
were  so  employed,  and  all  of  them  in  time  became  mem- 
bers of  the  mission-churches. 

Tlie    lack   of  gtmlt^^^  nt;t;isfnnfc;    mnrip  it.  nppp.spf^Tyi_tr> 

organize  a  training-class  of  a  few  young  men  who  should 
be  prepared  in  the  most  essential  things  for  serving  as 
teachers,  colporteurs  and  preachers.  These  persons  have 
done  fairly  well ;  some  of  them  have  been  efficient  and 
valuable. 

Congregations  have  been  maintained  permanently  in 
several  places  in  Tehran,  Hamadan  and  Rasht,  and  part 
of  the  time  iu  Karaghan.  The  work  of  preaching  has 
been  considered  of  first  importance,  and  these  congrega- 
tions have  been  sustained  by  persevering  and  personal 
effi^rt  only.  It  is  probable  that  they  could  not  have  been 
kept  up  without  the  schools  which  have  been  connected 
with  them.  The  religious  services  in  these  congregations 
have  been  conducted,  in  the  main,  as  similar  services  are 
in  the  home  churches.  It  required  no  special  training 
to  enable  the  Persians  to  understand  the  proprieties  of 
our  public  assemblies,  for  they  have  been  accustomed  to 
the  public  worship  of  the  mosques  and  the  Armenian 
churches.  The  forms  of  worship  differ,  but  the  people 
have  been  trained  to  habits  of  decorum  and  their  man- 
ner is  reverential.  In  no  instance  within  my  own 
knowledge  has  the  congregation  of  a  missionary  been  dis- 
turbed by  any  malicious  or  irreverent  conduct.  Iu  this 
particular  the  Persians  set  an  example  which   many  of 


292  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

the  people  of  Christian  lands  would  do  well  to  imitate. 
It  should  be  said,  however,  that  this  orderly  conduct  is 
not  the  fruit  of  much  liberty.  It  appears  to  be  the  fruit 
of  rigid  discipline.  The  people  are  accustomed  to  law 
and  to  obey,  and  are  taught  to  respect  their  superiors  in 
age  and  authority.  Superstition  also  has  somethiug  to 
do  with  their  conduct  in  reference  to  religious  exercises. 
Preaching  is  common  to  the  public  assemblies  of  the 
mosque  at  some  seasons  of  the  year.  Persians,  therefore, 
are  not  surprised  to  find  preaching  in  mission-churches. 
It  is  less  frequent  in  the  Armenian  congregations. 

Music  is  unknown  in  Mohammedan  worship.  The 
intoning  and  chanting  of  Armenians  can  hardly  be  called 
musical.  The  public  worship  of  mission-chapels  is 
usually  accompanied  with  singing  and  the  harmonium. 
The  music  is  not  admired  at  first  by  Mohammedans; 
the  impression  made  is  not  in  accord  with  their  notions 
of  propriety  and  reverence.  But  this  impression  is  soon 
effaced,  and  as  soon  as  they  can  reconcile  their  conscience 
to  it  they  listen  with  pleasure  to  Christian  praise.  Sacred 
song  is  a  means  of  imparting  religious  impressions,  and 
one  which  may  be  used  in  every  place.  It  is  not  always 
of  the  best  order,  judged  after  an  artistic  standard^  but 
the  hearers  are  ignorant  of  the  defects,  and  in  a  little 
while  learn  to  join  in  the  service.  Native  congregations 
seldom  attain  to  any  excellence  in  this  exercise  unless 
trained  and  led  by  the  voice  of  a  missionary.  They 
invariably  fall  into  the  minor  key,  or  that  peculiar  kind 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  HUSSION.  293 

of  siogiiig  common  in  that  country,  which  is  not  much 
esteemed  by  themselves  and  is  poorly  adapted  to  the 
hymns  commonly  sung  in  the  assemblies  of  Protestants. 
In  nearly  every  mission-station  the  harmonium  or  reed- 
organ  is  used  in  the  services  of  public  worship,  but  I  do 
not  know  that  it  or  the  singing  serves  to  attract  any  per- 
sons to  the  congregation  after  the  novelty  of  the  first 
impression  has  ceased  to  be  felt.  The  organ  is  useful, 
however,  in  leading  the  service  of  song.  That  part  of 
the  services  in  which  Persians  take  most  interest  is  the 
preaching.  They  judge  of  this  by  the  usual  standards 
of  excellence,  and  they  are  most  interested  in  the  pres- 
entation of  doctrines,  and  particularly  those  doctrines 
which  touch  their  own  faith  and  mode  of  worship.  They  ^ 
consider  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life  with  special  inter-HT 
est.  The  Christian  presentation  of  Christ  is  in  conflict 
with  the  teaching  of  the  Koran.  It  is  impossible  to 
harmonize  the  two.  The  greatest  differences  are  in  the 
most  important  and  essential  points.  The  Mohammedan 
Persian  makes  no  serious  objection  to  any  claim  set  up 
for  Christ  if  we  will  omit  the  claim  of  his  being  the 
Son  of  God  and  the  Redeemer.  To  claim  divinity  for 
a  human  being  is  no  new  thing  to  them.  The  Ale 
Allahees  assert  the  divinity  of  Ale,  the  husband  of 
Fatima,  as  their  name  denotes.  This  sect,  though  tol- 
erated, is  very  greatly  in  the  minority.  The  prevalent 
belief  and  preaching  with  reference  to  Ale  is  that  he 
was  a  good  man  divinely  called  and  inspired  to  preside 


i 


294  PERSIA:   EASTERN  MISSION. 

over  the  destinies  of  Islam.     But  the  Ale  Allahees  con- 
tend that  he  was  God  incarnate. 

The  peculiarities  of  the  Persian  Sheahism  are  not  such 
that  they  call  for  any  unusual  methods  of  general  mis- 
sionary effort  or  in  the  presentation  of  the  gospel.  These 
peculiarities,  however,  do  affect  the  Persian's  relation  to 
and  apprehension  of  many  of  the  methods  and  doctrines 
of  Christianity.  The  Persians  are  almost  wholly  of  the 
Mohammedan  sect  called  the  '^Twelve.''  They  differ 
from  the  Sunees,  the  larger  division  of  Islam,  not  in  the 
essential  doctrines  of  theology,  but  in  the  principles  and 
methods  of  the  government  of  Islam.  In  these  the 
Twelve  appear  to  have  borrowed  from  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  from  Rome.  The  number  of  the  twelve 
Imams  might  be  reasonably  conjectured  to  have  been 
at  first  suggested  by  the  twelve  apostles.  The  claim  to 
such  prerogatives  as  are  assumed  for  the  Imams  seems  to 
have  been  taken  from  the  claim  for  the  apostles  at  first, 
and  for  the  popes  in  a  later  age.  The  hint  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  second  coming  of  the  Mahde  might  have 
been  given  by  the  doctrine  of  the  second  coming  of 
Christ.  Fatiraism  has  some  resemblance  to  Mariolatry. 
It  might  be  thought,  with  show  of  reason,  that  Persians 
would  be  favorably  inclined  toward  the  papal  Church 
because  of  these  resemblances.  But  the  fact  appears  to 
be  that  the  peculiar  doctrines  and  forms  of  worship  of 
the  Romish  Church  have  no  great  weight  with  Sheahs. 
The  two  great  sects  of  Islam  have  been  in  contact  with 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  3IISSI0K  295 

Rome  nearly  thirteen  hundred  years,  and  have  received 
these  marks  of  the  beast,  yet  they  manifest  no  tendency 
to  yield  to  Rome.  The  Mohammedan  revulsion  from 
idolatry  repels  Persians  as  well  as  other  Mohammedans 
from  the  papal  Church.  A  reception  of  Christianity 
by  them  carries  with  it  an  abandonment  of  these  resem- 
blances. The  force  of  an  appeal  to  them  in  behalf  of 
Christianity  is  broken  by  any  attempt  to  ground  it  upon 
points  of  resemblance  in  it  to  their  own  system,  except 
it  be  on  such  doctrines  as  are  essential  to  any  belief  in 
the  being  and  perfections  of  one  supreme  God.  So  far 
as  Christianity  resembles  Islam,  the  former  is  thought 
to  be  unnecessary  and  a  justification  of  the  latter.  It  is 
the  difference  of  the  two  systems  which  can  affect 
Mohammedans  with  any  concern.  The  gospel  offers 
that  which  Sheahism  has  not  :  it  offers  a  sacrifice  for 
sin,  salvation  without  works,  and  a  God  moved  by  love 
instead  of  one  of  justice  only.  This  preaching  is  in 
conflict  with  Islam,  but  not  offensively  so.  Missionary 
instruction  cannot  be  confined  to  the  statement  of  this 
prime  feature  of  the  gospel.  Christianity  is  seen  by  . 
many  intelligent  Persians  to  be  in  conflict  with  their ^ 
philosophy,  theology,  ethics  and  forms  of  worship. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  change  the  method  of  preaching 
and  form  of  truth  in  order  to  adaptation  to  the  wants  of 
Armenians.  They  are  nearly  as  much  in  need  of  in- 
struction in  the  evidences  of  Christianity  and  the  sub- 
jects named  above  as  the  Mohammedans  are,  although 


296  PEESIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

they  profess  to  be  Christians.  In  labors  of  the  mission- 
aries for  the  Jews  of  Persia  emphasis  is  put  upon  the 
proofs  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus.  This  is  the  pivotal 
point  of  all  labor  with  them.  It  is  also  an  important 
point  to  gain  with  Mohammedans,  for  they  believe  that 
nearly  all  the  Messianic  prophecies  relate  to  the  office 
and  authority  of  Mohammed.  But  little  effort  is  made, 
however,  to  gain  any  of  these  people  by  direct  assault  on 
controverted  points.  The  most  successful  means  of  pre- 
vailing with  them  is  by  a  presentation  of  the  spiritual 
condition  of  mankind  and  of  the  way  of  salvation  by 
grace  only.  The  truths  which  affect  them  most  are  pre- 
sented in  discussions  in  regard  to  which  they  have  no 
answer — namely,  the  sinfulness  of  man,  the  perfection 
of  the  divine  law,  the  failure  of  works  and  the  suffi- 
ciency of  Christ.  The  conviction  of  the  unreasonable- 
ness and  worthlessness  of  all  attempts  at  justification  by 
ceremonies  carries  with  it  an  abandonment  of  all  that  is 
essentially  Mohammedan. 

The  missionaries  in  Tehran  have  not  received  to  the 
Church  professed  converts  from  any  sect  without  a  pre- 
paratory course  of  instruction.  The  schools  give  a  good 
part  of  the  training  required  in  Bible  knowledge.  It 
is  not  possible  for  a  pupil  to  be  in  these  without  obtain- 
ing some  knowledge  of  the  essential  truths  of  the  gospel. 
Converts  not  in  the  schools  were  expected  to  attend  the 
religious  services  and  to  receive  private  instruction 
from  the  missionaries. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  297 

The  course  of  study  in  the  mission-schools  has  been 
from  the  first  that  of  the  common  schools  in  Christian 
lauds,  with  the  addition  of  lessons  from  the  Bible  and 
fi'om  the  Catechism.  The  Sabbath-schools  are  attended 
by  the  pupils  of  the  day-schools  and  by  members  of  the 
congregations.  These  and  the  weekly  or  daily  prayer- 
meetings  exhibit  no  marked  differences  from  like  meet- 
ings in  Christian  countries. 

As  will  be  seen  by  a  perusal  of  the  preceding  pages 
of  this  work,  this  mission  has  given  a  great  deal  of  care 
and  labor  to  Bible-work  within  its  own  field.  The  fruits 
of  this  work  are  plainly  apparent  in  every  place  where 
colporteurs  have  gone.  The  visible  effects  have  been 
religious  inquiry,  an  investigation  of  the  claims  of  the 
Bible  and  a  demand  for  books.  The  result  with  Arme- 
nians has  been  to  supply  them  with  Scriptures  where 
they  had  none.  In  Tehran  the  circulation  of  the  Script- 
ures has  had  the  effect  of  silencing  the  opposition  of  some 
of  the  leading  and  most  violent  mujtaheeds.  One,  a  man 
of  great  influence,  was  contemplating  measures  of  oppo- 
sition to  the  Tehran  mission.  He  did  not  possess  a  copy 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  had  not  at  any  time  of  his  life 
seen  a  copy  of  the  Bible.  A  Christian  Persian,  hearing 
of  the  evil  reports,  called  upon  the  mujtaheed  and  sug- 
gested that  it  would  be  much  more  to  the  credit  of  a 
judge  to  know  from  the  book  itself  what  Christians 
taught  than  to  rely  on  the  reports  of  ignorant  and  evil- 
disposed  persons.     The  mujtaheed  assented  to  this  view 


298  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

of  the  matter,  and  requested  the  man  to  obtain  a  Bible 
for  him,  and  that  he  should  not  let  any  one  know  of 
such  request  or  that  he  had  the  book  in  his  possession. 
On  reading  the  volume  he  expressed  his  surprise,  and 
nothing  further  was  ever  heard  of  the  resentment  of 
this  mujtaheed.  In  several  instances  known  to  me  the 
gift  of  a  Bible  and  the  perusal  of  it  by  Persian  officers 
have  been  the  direct  means  of  leading  these  men  to  pro- 
tect the  colporteurs  and  Christians  and  to  open  the  way 
for  our  work.  With  reference  to  the  circulation  of  other 
books  little  can  be  said,  because  there  are  very  few 
Christian  books  in  the  Persian  language.  The  mission 
has  made  no  attempt  to  distribute  the  controversial 
works  of  Pfander.  However  good,  therefore,  the  book 
may  be,  no  claim  is  made  by  us  for  the  use  of  it  except 
as  a  text-book  for  the  training-class.  The  work  is  use- 
ful to  Persian  students  in  our  schools  as  a  presentation 
of  the  Mohammedan  controversy,  but  its  general  circu- 
lation is  prohibited.  The  school  and  religious  books  in 
the  Armenian  language  are  useful  in  their  place,  but  the 
religious  books  are  chiefly  translations  pf  works  com- 
posed in  the  English  language  and  adapted  to  Western 
ideas  and  customs  of  life,  and  to  a  maturity  of  Christian 
knowledge  which  is  not  possessed  by  Armenians  in  any 
considerable  degree,  and  not  at  all  by  Mohammedans. 
Our  work  in  Tehran  and  Eastern  Persia  has  need  of 
books  written  in  adaptation  to  Persian  modes  of  life  and 
thought,  and  made  attractive  by  simplicity,  also  by  illus- 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  299 

trations.  The  Persians  are  very  fond  of  pictures  :  they 
love  to  paper  the  walls  of  their  houses  with  Harper's 
and  Frank  Leslie's  illustrated  papers,  and  in  efforts  to 
meet  their  wants  in  the  way  of  books  it  is  poor  econ- 
omy to  leave  the  illustrations  out  and  to  fill  up  with  dry 
dissertations.  The  popular  editions  of  their  own  books 
abound  in  illuminations. 

The  Eastern  Persia  Mission  makes  use  of  the  medical 
missionary.  Among  the  friends  of  missions  there  is  a 
growing  interest  in  the  medical  mission.  It  is  thought 
to  be  desirable,  not  only  for  the  safety  of  the  families  of 
missionaries,  but  as  a  means  of  influence  over  natives  of 
the  country.  The  physician  gains  access  to  Persians 
over  whom  the  clerical  missionary  could  obtain  but 
little  or  no  influence,  and  this  for  two  reasons :  first, 
because  of  the  medical  treatment  he  can  give ;  and,  sec- 
ondly, for  the  reason  that  he  is  supposed  not  to  be  a 
religious  teacher.  So  far  as  my  own  observation  of 
medical  work  in  Persia  extends,  it  goes  to  prove  that 
just  so  far  as  the  physician  makes  direct  religious  effort 
for  his  patients  or  the  people  at  large  he  is  avoided  by 
all  who  shun  any  other  missionary.  I  have  not  seen 
any  considerable  or  permanent  increase  of  the  congrega- 
tions from  the  dispensary.  The  effect  of  preaching  in 
the  dispensary  has  been  to  lessen  the  number  of  those 
who  resort^to  that  place.  As  soon  as  the  impression  is 
created  that  the  dispensary  is  a  net  in  wdiich  to  catch 
proselytes  or  hearers  for  the  congregation,  the  medical 


300  PERSIA  :   EASTERN  MISSION. 

department  loses  the  patronage  of  the  better  classes  of 
the  people.  The  real  efficiency  of  the  medical  mission 
has  been  in  the  indirect  influence  exerted  by  the  forma- 
tion of  friendships  with  all  classes,  and  especially  with 
the  authorities.  The  effect  is  not  seen  in  great  religious 
gain,  but  in  a  secular  advantage.  The  conferring  of 
medals  and  honors  by  the  king  on  our  physicians  is  not 
to  be  taken  as  any  indication  of  the  conversion  of  the 
Shah  to  Christianity.  It  is  encouraging,  however,  to 
learn  that  he  is  more  and  more  favorably  inclined  to 
Christian  therapeutics.  The  chief  benefit  of  the  medical 
mission,  so  far  as  one  can  judge,  is  in  the  preservation 
of  the  health  and  life  of  the  men  and  women  whose 
whole  business  it  is  to  make  direct  religious  eifort  for  the 
natives.  The  medical  department  in  Tehran  is  yet  new, 
and  that  in  Hamadan  is  more  recent.  The  establish- 
ment in  Tehran  of  the  hospital  which  is  now  in  process 
of  construction  will,  it  is  believed,  give  the  doctor 
greater  opportunity  than  is  at  present  offered  for  direct 
religious  labors  witli  the  people. 

Special  effort  for  the  religious  improvement  of  Per- 
sian women  has  been  made  mainly  in  or  by  the  girls' 
schools.  Reports  of  efforts  made  for  women  outside  of 
the  schools  have  been  given  in  these  pages.  The  want  of 
help  for  this  department  will  in  part  be  supplied  by  the 
presence  of  a  lady  physician.  The  social  life  of  Persian 
women  is  such  that  Christ  can  be  preached  to  them  in 
Persian  homes  most  effectually  by  Christian  women  only. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Difficulties  Peculiar  to  the  Field — Expensive  Establishments — Dis- 
play of  Wealth — Educational  Establishments — Similarity  of 
Motives  in  Tehran  and  in  New  York — Missionaries  are  Kepre- 
sentatives — Impression  Created  by  Foreign  Legations — Criticism 
of  Missionaries — Kequirements  in  the  Way  of  Schools — Judicious 
Use  of  Funds — Espionage  of  the  Persian  Authorities — Preoccu- 
pation of  the  Minds  of  the  People  by  Worldly  Allurements — 
Usual  Influence  of  Foreigners — Demand  for  Foreign  Protection — 
Advantages  of  the  Field — A  Centre  of  Influence  for  the  King- 
dom— Political  Influences — Persian  Young  Men— Good  Influence 
of  Foreigners — Consecration  of  Wealth. 

TjIVERY  missionaiy  field  has  its  own  peculiar  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  mission-work.  Tehran  is  no 
exception  in  this  particular.  One  of  the  most  obvious 
demands  of  the  place  is  an  expensive  establishment. 
Being,  as  it  is,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  and  residence 
of  the  king,  his  court  and  many  wealthy  and  influential 
men,  the  citizens  of  the  place  have  been  accustomed  to 
the  style  of  living  maintained  by  such  persons.  Not 
that  they  all  live  as  princes — far  from  it — but  the  poor- 
est of  the  people  are  familiar  with  the  show  and  luxury 
of  the  great.  They  look  with  deference  upon  palaces, 
parks  and  royal  equipages,  and  the  environments  of  the 
representatives  of  courts  and  princes  are,  in  their  minds, 

301 


302  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION, 

associated  with  respectability  and  with  efficiency  in  every 
undertaking  of  a  public  nature.  Here,  as  in  no  other  city 
of  the  kingdom,  poverty  and  the  want  of  a  fair  worldly 
estate  are  a  source  of  weakness.  The  people  have  sense 
and  discrimination  enough  to  know  that  the  religious 
orders  are  not  expected  to  live  as  princes,  yet  impressions 
are  made  upon  their  minds  of  the  same  nature  and  to 
the  same  extent  as  those  which  are  created  by  the  en- 
vironments of  every  Church  and  religious  enterprise  in 
America  or  in  England.  Influence  must  be  gained 
mainly  by  the  established  channels.  The  people  are  not 
like  the  naked  savages  of  Africa  and  the  islands,  but  a 
cultivated  people  whose  taste  and  sense  of  propriety  are 
formed  in  a  centre  of  Oriental  splendor,  and  it  is  not  to 
be  presumed  that  they  will  be  ready  to  receive  shabby 
representatives  of  Christian  zeal.  If  the  missionary 
could  command  the  power  by  which  the  apostles  and  the 
Saviour  himself  proved  their  divine  mission — the  power 
of  working  miracles,  of  curing  the  sick  by  a  word  and 
raising  the  dead — he  might  be  expected  to  have  a  fol- 
lowing ;  but  in  the  absence  of  these  accessories  he  is 
judged  by  precisely  the  same  criterions  by  which  people 
in  Christian  lauds  judge  of  men  and  their  undertakings. 
There  is  in  Tehran  not  only  a  display  of  wealth  in  the 
secular  life  of  all  classes,  but  in  the  religious  and  educa- 
tional establishments  as  wtII.  These  are  on  a  scale  with 
the  pretensions  of  the  ambitious  classes.  There  are  many 
large  mosques  with  fair  appointments  and  revenues.    The 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  303 

number  of  such  is  increasing.  One  mosque  is  estimated 
to  cost  over  two  millions  of  dollars.  The  mujtaheeds 
and  Mohammedan  preachers  are  among  the  best  edu- 
cated and  cultured  of  the  people.  I  do  not  now 
compare  these  men  and  their  establishments  with  like 
institutions  and  orders  of  men  in  Europe  and  America, 
but  they  are  notable  in  their  own  country,  and  mission- 
aries could  not  expect  to  rival  these  institutions  in  point 
of  expensiveness.  But  on  this  point  it  is  plain  too  great 
a  contrast  would  naturally  excite  contempt. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  people's  habits  of  thought 
and  feeling  in  regard  to  these  matters  should  form  no 
criterion  of  conduct  for  the  missionaries,  and  that  they 
should  not  think  of  commending  their  cause  by  con- 
formity to  the  worldly  and  ostentatious  ways  of  the 
heathen.  The  same  arguments  for  conformity  to  public 
taste  which  are  urged  iu  the  appointments  of  churches 
and  schools  in  America  are,  witJiin  reasonable  limits, 
valid  in  Persia  and  in  every  other  mission-field.  The 
dirty  and  poor  chapels  of  New  York  or  London  are  not 
the  places  to  which  the  masses  resort,  much  less  the  re- 
spectable classes.  The  schools  and  colleges  in  America 
which  have  not  adequate  means  of  support  are  not 
the  schools  which  are  most  patronized.  The  feelings  of 
many  Americans  and  Englishmen  toward  rude  appoint- 
ments in  churches  and  schools  are  evidences  of  the  sen- 
timents which  are  cherished  by  all  people  of  any  refine- 
ment of  feeling,  whether  in  Persia  or  in  other  civilized 


304  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

lands.  Missionaries,  however  pure  their  doctrine,  can- 
not aiford  to  disregard  and  shock  the  taste  and  sense  of 
propriety  of  the  civilization  under  which  the  people  are 
reared.  These  feelings  are  deepened  in  Persians  by  the 
belief  that  Christian  missionaries  have  a  constituency 
possessed  of  great  wealth,  and  that  if  there  be  any  lack 
of  adequate  equipment  it  is  either  because  the  mission- 
ary is  not  approved  or  because  that  constituency  do  not 
esteem  his  work. 

The  life  of  the  representatives  of  European  govern- 
ments confirms  this  impression  of  the  natives.  The  le- 
gations are  maintained  at  what  seems  to  this  people  a 
great  expense.  The  buildings  occupied  by  them  are 
spacious  and  the  best  which  the  country  affords.  They 
support  many  servants,  and  command  the  respect  of  the 
king  and  his  courtiers  by  their  style  of  living,  if  not  by 
other  means.  While  it  is  not  expected  that  missionaries 
will  be  maintained  in  the  same  style  of  luxury,  yet  it  is 
thought  that  they  also  are  in  no  small  degree  represen- 
tatives of  the  life  and  civilization  of  Christian  nations. 
I  am  sure  there  is  no  desire  on  the  part  of  missionaries 
to  emulate  the  manner  of  life  of  courtiers.  But  it  is 
evident  that  in  such  a  place  the  appointments  for  work 
must  be  of  a  very  different  grade  from  those  which 
would  be  available  in  some  other  towns.  The  chapels 
must  be  fair  structures.  The  mission-schools  must  be 
superior  to  the  best  schools  conducted  by  Mohammedans 
and  Armenians.     There  must  be  superiority  in  the  ar- 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  307 

rangement  and  the  instruction  of  these  schools.  In 
view  of  these  facts,  some  missionaries  might  prefer  other 
fields  and  places  in  which  this  difficulty  is  not  to  be  met, 
and  where  they  will  be  free  from  all  criticisms  on  the 
subject.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  when  once  the 
field  has  been  possessed,  the  foundation  laid  and  the 
buildings  erected,  the  critics  ai*e  among  the  most  for- 
ward to  occupy  and  to  contribute  their  quota  to  the  in- 
crease of  expenses.  The  difficulty  referred  to  was  one 
which  appeared  at  the  first  thought  of  occupying  Teh- 
ran, and  was  seriously  urged  against  any  attempt  to  es- 
tablish a  mission-station  there.  But  the  same  arguments 
might  be  presented  in  opposition  to  the  opening  of  mis- 
sions in  any  capital  or  in  the  great  cities  of  other  countries. 

The  question,  "What  is  a  judicious  use  of  missionary 
funds  to  meet  the  proper  demands  of  the  place  ?'^  has 
been  one  of  the  most  serious  and  perplexing  questions 
which  the  missionaries  in  Tehran  have  had  to  consider. 
The  limited  allowances  made  by  the  Board  have  left  but 
little  or  no  room  for  doubt  in  practice. 

Another  source  of  embarrassment  peculiar  to  this  field 
is  the  fact  that  missionary  work  in  the  capital  falls  im- 
mediately under  the  observation  of  the  king  and  the 
highest  secular  and  religious  authorities  of  that  country. 
It  might  reasonably  be  expected  that  this  work  would 
excite  the  jealousy  of  the  latter  and  the  opposition  of 
both,  to  some  extent.  But  the  fact  is,  that  no  great  dif- 
ficulty has  arisen  from  this  source,  other  than  such  as  is 
17 


308  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

met  with  iu  other  parts  of  Persia.  It  apj>ears  to  be  true 
that  the  mission  here  has  suffered  less  restraint  than 
missions  in  other  cities.  It  is  possible  that  the  future 
may  show  that  the  conjectured  evil  has  a  foundation  in 
fact.  The  future  must  depend  upon  the  character  of  the 
men  who  may  rule  in  the  high  places  of  the  government. 
The  danger  furnishes  a  motive  for  special  prayer  that 
He  who  turneth  the  king's  heart  whithersoever  he  will 
may  incline  the  king  of  Persia  to  favor  the  cause  of  the 
ministers  of  Christ. 

The  preoccupation  of  the  minds  of  the  people  of  Teh- 
ran by  objects  of  an  enticing  and  worldly  nature  is 
thought  to  be  a  condition  unfavorable  to  the  development 
of  religious  and  spiritual  feeling  and  instruction  among 
the  people  of  Tehran.  Some  of  these  objects  have  been 
referred  to  in  connection  with  other  subjects.  We  have 
here  the  glare  and  pomp  of  Oriental  state.  The  king 
and  his  court  form  a  conspicuous  object  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people,  and  the  manner  of  life  of  the  principal  men  tends 
to  the  development  of  the  natural  love  of  the  world  and 
special  forms  of  its  vanities.  Many  of  the  men  in  au- 
thority are  openly  intemperate,  while  the  use  of  intoxi- 
cating drinks  in  the  greater  part  of  the  country  is  not 
tolerated  by  Mohammedans.  Many  of  the  people  are 
extravagant  in  their  dress  and  style  of  living,  and  the 
tendency  with  the  populace  is  to  follow  the  example  of 
the  wealthy.  The  poor  and  the  people  of  moderate 
means  are  constantly  tempted  to  live  beyond  their  ability. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  309 

The  presence  of  men  of  wealth  at  the  capital  often  stimu- 
lates trade  and  speculation  and  increases  the  covetousness 
so  proverbially  strong  in  Orientals.  It  also  engages  the 
thoughts  of  business-men,  so  that  they  are  less  inclined 
to  religious  services  than  are  the  people  in  many  other 
places.  The  Persians  of  Tehran  have  learned  some 
of  the  tricks  of  speculation.  They  know  what  it  is  to 
make  a  ''  corner "  in  wheat  and  other  things.  They 
have  learned  to  speculate  in  city  property  and  play 
sharp  in  making  advances  in  the  price  of  corner  lots. 
They  have  learned  how  to  build  to  sell,  and  to  sell  in 
more  ways  than  one.  Some  of  the  merchants  have  vis- 
ited European  cities,  and  regularly  purchase  stocks  of 
goods  in  London,  Paris,  Vienna  and  Moscow. 

Public  affairs  also  often  offer  exciting  phases.  The 
removal  from  office  of  favorites  of  the  court  or  of  the 
people,  and  the  appointment  of  other  men  to  fill  the 
places  vacated,  the  rumors  of  revolt  or  war,  the  arrival 
or  departure  of  the  ministers  of  foreign  governments, 
new  orders  of  the  Shah,  the  movements  of  troops  and 
many  other  incidents,  all  furnish  occasion  for  gossip  and 
for  suspicion  where  rumor  is  the  only  source  of  infor- 
mation to  the  populace. 

The  usual  influence  of  foreigners  is  thought  to  be  ad- 
verse to  Christian  effort  with  the  natives  of  the  country. 
With  a  few  noble  exceptions  the  foreigners  are  not  exam- 
ples of  Christian  character.  On  the  contrary,  some  of 
them  are  conspicuous  for  immorality  and  intemperance. 


310  PERSIA:   EASTERN  MISSION. 

The  natives  imitate  the  vices  rather  than  the  virtues  of 
foreigners.  Not  the  least  of  the  evils  to  be  met  in  the 
course  of  mission -work  in  the  capital  is  the  demand  for 
foreign  protection  on  the  part  of  Persians  who  become 
in  any  way  identified  with  missionaries  or  other  foreign- 
ers. This  trouble  is  felt  in  every  part  of  Persia  where 
foreigners  reside.  All  the  people  experience  such  griev- 
ances that  they  resort  to  foreigners  in  the  hope  that  re- 
lief will  be  obtained  through  their  intercessions  with  the 
Persian  authorities.  This  hope  is  increased  by  the  evi- 
dence of  influence  seen  in  the  foreign  legations.  It  is 
often  the  case  that  Persians  seek  the  friendship  of  mis- 
sionaries in  the  expectation  of  this  temporal  advantage 
when  they  should  be  actuated  by  better  motives.  No  man 
of  kind  feeling  and  having  real  sympathy  with  the  people 
in  their  distresses  would  refuse  to  aid  when  assistance 
could  possibly  be  given.  His  natural  impulse  is  to  in- 
tercede for  the  oppressed.  The  customs  of  the  country 
are  such  that  he  can  often  render  efficient  service  in  this 
way.  The  right  of  the  teacher  to  intercede  for  his  dis- 
ciples, the  master  for  his  servants,  appears  to  be  conceded 
by  the  authorities,  and  is  so  common  a  practice  that  he 
who  should  disregard  the  privilege  could  hardly  retain 
the  affection  or  respect  of  those  who  look  to  him  for  in- 
struction. Much  of  the  missionary's  time,  therefore,  is 
taken  up  with  a  consideration  of,  or  an  effort  to  relieve, 
the  distresses  of  the  people  for  whom  he  ministers. 
We  turn  from  the  consideration  of  the  difficulties  to 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  311 

a  view  of  the  advantages  of  the  position.  The  capital 
of  Persia  is  the  centre  of  the  influences  which  affect  the 
whole  kingdom  for  either  good  or  evil.  It  is  true  of 
nearly  all  Oriental  countries  that  the  residence  of  the 
king  and  the  seat  of  government  make  the  chief  city. 
The  population  follows  the  person  of  the  king.  It  cer- 
tainly has  been  true  of  Persia  in  all  past  time  that  the 
permanent  seat  of  the  court  has  been  the  principal  city 
in  every  way.  Here  are  concentrated  the  political  influ- 
ences, the  educational  institutions,  such  as  they  may  be, 
the  literary  men  and  the  military  leaders.  Here,  as  in 
no  other  place,  missionary  influence  might  be  expected 
to  reach  the  governing  classes.  Some  obscure  village  or 
provincial  capital  may  bring  the  missionary  into  intimate 
relations  with  some  man  who  in  the  providence  of  God 
may  be  raised  to  the  highest  place  in  the  government, 
but  under  ordinary  providences  acquaintance  with  the 
rulers  and  influence  with  them  are  obtained  at  the  capi- 
tal city.  While  Protestant  missionaries  do  not  advise 
schemes  of  political  influence,  yet  the  friendship  of  the 
rulers  of  the  land  is  to  be  desired  so  far  as  it  may  be 
honestly  obtained. 

It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  that  from  the  capital  of 
Persia  many  young  men  go  out  to  different  parts  of  the 
laud  to  serve  the  state  in  many  ways,  as  in  the  army,  in 
the  postal  and  telegraphic  departments  and  as  physicians. 
It  is  not  unreasonable  to  believe  that  some  or  many  of 
these  persons  during  their  life  in  the   city  may  come 


312  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

under  the  influence  of  the  gospel,  and  carry  that  influ- 
ence with  them  to  many  positions  of  power  in  other 
parts  of  the  country.  Several  young  men  might  be 
named  who  have  been  associated  in  some  way  with  the 
missionaries  of  Tehran  and  have  received  appointments 
to  responsible  positions  remote  from  the  capital.  One,  a 
member  of  the  Tehran  church,  has  for  years  been  in  the 
service  of  the  king  in  one  of  the  principal  towns  of 
North-western  Persia  and  on  the  borders  of  the  Turk- 
man country ;  another  is  near  the  eastern  frontier ;  an- 
other was  appointed  to  Hamadan.  In  no  other  city  in 
the  kingdom  is  there  an  opening  of  the  same  extent  for 
the  employment  of  Christian  young  men  in  positions  of 
influence  under  the  government  of  that  country,  and 
where  they  are  yet  free  to  exercise  their  own  religious 
convictions.  It  should  not  be  supposed  that  the  only 
persons  sent  out  from  the  capital  on  the  service  of  the 
king  are  young  men  from  the  schools.  The  missionary 
in  that  city  is  known  personally  or  by  report  to  nearly 
all  the  heads  of  the  departments  of  state  and  to  the  great- 
er part  of  the  subordinate  officers.  Many  of  these  from 
time  to  time  go  with  the  army  or  in  other  service  to  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country,  and  others  come  to  take  their 
places. 

In  no  other  city  of  the  kingdom  are  there  so  many 
readers.  This  fact  shows  the  possibility  of  accomplish- 
ing much  good  in  this  city  by  the  circulation  of  Chris- 
tian books.     It  is  probably  true  also  that  in  no   other 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  313 

city  of  that  land  are  there  so  many  literary  men,  and 
therefore  there  is  no  other  place  where  there  is  so  fair 
a  prospect  of  accessions  to  our  number  from  this  class 
of  men.  If  it  be  thought  that  their  literature  and  edu- 
cation are  of  no  value,  it  must  nevertlieless  be  admitted 
that  they  are  believed  by  the  people  to  posseijs  worth. 
It  is  also  true  that  these  men  are  the  leaders  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  especially  influential  with  the  better  class  of 
citizens.  The  knowledge  which  they  possess  is  an  im- 
portant qualification  for  dealing  with  the  errors  which 
the  literature  and  education  serve  to  perpetuate. 

If  the  presence  of  foreigners  has  its  evils,  it  also  has 
its  advantages.  Many  of  them  are  well  disposed  to  the 
missionaries,  some  of  them  are  earnest  Christian  men 
and  women,  and  nearly  all  are  kindly  disposed  to  Chris- 
tian effort.  Owing  to  the  isolation  of  foreigners  in  Per- 
sia, they  and  the  missionaries  are  brought  into  intimate 
and  friendly  relations,  and  are  to  some  extent  mutually 
dependent.  It  is  possible  that  much  good  may  be  done 
by  cultivating  this  friendship  and  directing  the  exercise 
of  the  influence  which  the  foreigners,  especially  the 
English-speaking  people,  possess.  The  mission-work 
gives  to  all  among  them  who  may  be  kindly  disposed  a 
favorable  op]X)rtunity  of  aiding  the  cause  of  Christ  and 
of  benefiting  the  native  population. 

If  there  is  at  the  capital  a  concentration  of  wealth, 
and  if  this  may  increase  the  power  of  a  false  religion, 
yet  we  may  trust  that  the  gospel    has   power  to   bring 


314  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

these  possessions  also  into  subserviency  to  its  own  good 
purpose.  We  may  believe  that  this  wealth  and  the 
glory  of  the  kingdom  will  one  day  be  consecrated  to 
Christ. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Difficulties  and  Encouragements  in  the  Whole  Field — Intolerance — 
Peculiarities  of  Persian  Mohammedanism — The  Weaker  Phase — 
The  Difficulty  of  the  Mental  Condition — Policy  of  European 
Governments — Dispersed  State  of  the  Non-Mohammedan  People 
— Encouragements — Increase  of  Intelligence,  Means  of:  Tele- 
graphs, Postal  System — Favorable  Impression  of  Foreigners — 
Results  of  Missionary  Work — Precedents  in  Favor  of  Religious 
Liberty — Success  of  Bible-Work — Exploration — Preparatory 
Work — Present  and  Prospective  Effect  of  the  Russian  Advance 
on  the  Eastern  Border  of  Persia — Natural  Resources  of  Eastern 
Persia — Elements  of  Change — Policy  of  European  Nations. 

'TIHE  statements  of  the  foregoing  chapter  have  special 
~^  reference  to  Tehran.  But  there  are  difficulties  and 
advantages  experienced  in  the  missionary  work  which 
pertain  to  the  whole  field  of  Eastern  Persia. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  course  of  the  government 
and  the  experiences  of  the  missionaries,  as  related  in 
previous  chapters,  Jhat  the  great  obstacle  to  mission 
efforts  in  Persia  is  the  intolerance  of  the  secular  and 
spmfuartutRcJrTEiesI  It  is  so  in  the  whole  land.  But, 
as  might  be  expected,  that  intolerance  is  intense  and  eifec- 
tive  in  proportion  to  the  strength  and  pride  of  the  peo- 
ple. Evangelical  labors  in  this  field  have  to  do  with 
Armenians,  Jews  and  Mohammedans  only  or  mainly. 
There  are  many  Jewish  and  Armenian  communities  in 

316 


316  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

which  the  people  fear  to  receive  the  labors  of  Christian 
missionaries,  not  because  of  intolerant  laws  of  the  sec- 
ular government,  but  from  fear  of  the  opposition  and 
persecution  which  would  be  excited  against  them  by  the 
leaders  of  these  sects,  and  which  could  not  be  immedi- 
ately suppressed  owing  to  the  indifference  of  the  secular 
authorities  to  matters  of  this  sort. 

How  far  the  peculiar  religious  faith  of  Persian  Mo- 
hammedans may  form  a  discouraging  element  to  be  met 
with  is  a  question  which  has  not  been  fairly  answered 
by  labors  for  Persians,  owing  to  the  fact  that  intolerant 
laws  have  so  far  precluded  such  labors  that  the  real 
strength  of  the  system  of  philosophy  and  religion  has 
not  been  tested.  From  what  has  been  done,  and  judg- 
ing of  the  theory,  it  seems  to  be  a  fair  inference  that 
the  system  has  no  great  inherent  strength  and  no  great  or 
peculiar  element  of  influence  as  against  other  systems  of 
religion.  It  appears  to  be  the  weaker  phase  of  Moham- 
medanism. The  extravagances  and  the  unnatural  phases 
of  the  system  are  elements  of  weakness.  The  claim 
made  by  the  Mahde  is  received  with  reservations  and 
skepticism  by  the  people.  There  is  an  element  of  ab- 
surdity in  the  serious  pretensions  set  up  for  him  by  the 
history  and  traditions  of  the  Twelve.  This  doctrine  is 
an  element  of  weakness  also  by  reason  of  the  dissensions 
which  it  creates.  It  gives  rise  to  divisions  about  his 
powers,  and  gives  occasion  to  an  interminable  succession 
of  impostors.     The  main  conception  of  the  succession 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  317 

of  twelve  Imams  is  so  palpable  an  imitation  of  the  num- 
ber and  power  of  twelve  apostles  that  the  resemblance 
suggests  to  every  intelligent  person  the  thought  of  an 
invention  and  a  fraud.  The  system,  however,  presents 
the  difficulty  there  is  in  the  condition  of  the  intellect  and 
heart  which  can  accept  it.  It  might  be  expected  that 
the  only  way  of  leading  such  a  mind  to  receive  another 
and  better  system  would  be  to  instruct  and  enlighten  it. 
We  believe  that  the  main  reason  that  so  few  Mohammed- 
ans have  become  Christians  is  the  fact  that  the  knowl- 
edge and  education  essential  to  a  preparation  for  the  re- 
ception of  Christianity  have  been  excluded  by  the  intol- 
erance which  owes  much  of  its  efficiency  to  European 
diplomacy.  European  governments  have  discouraged 
all  effort  on  the  part  of  their  subjects  for  the  Persian 
people.  This  discouragement  has  included  commercial 
as  well  as  religious  efforts.  It  has  taken  the  form  of 
positive  prohibition  to  live  in  the  country  or  to  enter 
into  any  contracts  with  the  government  or  people  of  that 
kingdom.  This  policy  has  been  adopted  as  a  safeguard 
against  any  political  complications.  For  this  purpose 
the  scheme  may  or  may  not  be  wise,  but,  however  that 
may  be,  it  has  tended  to  the  exclusion  of  the  gospel 
from  this  and  other  Mohammedan  lands. 

The  dispersed  condition  of  the  non-Mohammedan 
people  has  its  favorable  and  unfavorable  bearing  on  mis- 
sionary effort.  The  settlements  of  the  Armenians,  Jews 
and  Guebers  are  widely  separated  and  are  feeble.     This 


318  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

condition  exposes  these  people  to  the  influence  of  the 
Mohammedans  among  whom  they  are  dispersed ;  it  also 
makes  missionary  effort  for  them  more  laborious  than  it 
would  be  were  these  colonies  concentrated  in  one.  The 
Protestant  communities  are  necessarily  small.  On  the 
other  hand,  this  state  may  be  thought  to  have  its  ad- 
vantages. It  gives  opportunity  for  many  centres  of 
Christian  influences  among  the  Mohammedans.  Every 
Armenian  and  Jewish  colony  when  once  evangelized  be- 
comes a  light  to  a  wide  region  where  now  the  gospel  is 
practically  excluded. 

We  now  turn  our  thoughts  to  the  encouragements 
offered  to  missionary  labor. 

It  is  a  fact  of  no  little  interest  that  there  is  an  increase 
of  intelligence  in  the  people  of  Eastern  Persia.  There 
are  special  reasons  why  it  is  so.  Within  a  few  years 
past  these  people  have  been  brought,  as  never  before, 
into  communication  with  the  world  and  into  contact 
with  Christian  civilization.  Special  means  of  awaken- 
ing inquiry  and  diff'using  knowledge  have  been  estab- 
lished in  the  land.  Of  these  means  mention  may  be 
made  of  the  telegraph-lines  constructed  by  Europeans. 
The  stations  along  these  lines  are  in  the  hands  of  ope- 
rators who  have  been  especially  instructed  and  who  are 
inclined  to  progress.  An  efficient  postal  system  has 
been  established.  It  gives  communication  with  all  the 
provinces  and  principal  towns  and  with  Europe  and 
America.       Many  of   the  postmasters  are   Armenians, 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  319 

and  all  have  had  some  instruction.  The  telegraph  and 
the  post  speak  for  progress  and  for  the  Christian  nations. 
The  king's  college  sends  out  a  number  of  physicians 
having  some  knowledge  of  medical  science  as  it  is  taught 
by  Europeans.  The  inclination  of  the  people  is  favor- 
able to  foreigners.  A  foreigner  of  good  deportment  is 
usually  treated  with  great  respect.  He  is  considered 
superior  to  the  native  Persian,  and  his  superiority  speaks 
favox'ably  for  his  religious  faith  or  the  faith  of  his  peo- 
ple. It  is  commonly  remarked  by  Persians  that  the 
best  religion  is  that  which  is  accepted  by  the  best  and 
wisest  nation.  They  think  that  Persians  are  the  best  and 
wisest,  or  that  Mohammedans  are,  until  they  see  that  the 
superiority  is  with  other  people. 

The  results  of  missionary  work  in  Eastern  Persia 
promise  well  for  the  future.  This  work,  as  the  forego- 
ing narrative  shows,  is  of  recent  date.  It  began  with  a 
single  mission-station  ;  it  has  expanded  to  several  sta- 
tions. It  began  with  (me  missionary ;  it  now  emplovs 
eleven  and  a  goodly  number  of  native  teachers  and  as- 
sistants, and  calls  for  more  laborers  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  growing  interest  and  the  opening  fields.  This  mis- 
sion has  had  success  in  several  clearly-defined  lines  of 
effort.  Which  one  of  these  may  be  the  most  important 
in  its  bearing  upon  the  interests  of  the  whole  field  I 
would  not  attempt  to  decide ;  but  in  referring  to  them  I 
would  mention — 

First,  the  gain  in  precedents  in  favor  of  religious  lib- 


320  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

ertj  and  other  concessions  on  the  part  of  the  Persian 
authorities.  In  the  early  days  of  missionary  effort  in 
Persia  control  over  the  belief  and  worship  of  the  j^eople 
of  a  religious  sect  was  referred  by  the  secular  ruler  to  the 
spiritual  head  of  that  sect.  The  bishop,  and  after  him 
the  priests,  of  the  Armenians  claimed  the  right  to  judge 
of  all  departures  from  Armenian  faith  and  practice  on 
the  part  of  the  people,  and  the  right  to  inflict  penalties, 
to  restrain,  imprison  and  to  punish  all  who  felt  con- 
strained to  adopt  another  belief  and  form  of  worship. 
Like  authority  was  exercised  by  the  heads  of  other  non- 
Mohammedan  sects.  It  was  needful,  therefore,  that  the 
missionary  should  find  some  way  of  protecting  converts 
to  his  views  of  religious  truth.  He  could  protect  the 
convert  only  by  securing  the  interposition  of  the  secular 
authorities.  That  interposition  was  dependent  on  the 
caprice  of  the  prince,  governor  or  king.  The  decisions 
of  the  judge  were  sometimes  favorable  to  the  appeal  of 
the  missionary,  and  often  adverse.  In  the  course  of  the 
years  of  the  mission's  continuance  some  general  orders 
of  the  authorities  in  Tehran  have  been  obtained  declar- 
ing the  religious  liberty  of  all  non-Mohammedans ;  but 
the  most  effectual  helps  are  the  decisions  in  particular 
cases,  which  may  be  referred  to  as  precedents  establish- 
ing important  principles  by  which  the  relations  of  the 
sects  are  to  be  regulated.  In  many  cases  also  where  no 
judicial  action  was  called  for,  in  matters  of  title  to  prop- 
erty, relations  of  missionaries  to  the  sects,  duties  of  con- 


PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION.  321 

verts  to  the  state  and  questions  of  privilege,  the  author- 
ities in  Tell  ran  have  made  important  concessions. 

Secondly,  the  general  circulation  of  the  Scriptures  in 
Persia,  especially  in  Eastern  Persia.  A  special  eifort  in 
this  direction  has  been  continued  during  the  years  of 
this  mission.  Previous  to  the  opening  of  the  Tehran 
mission  efforts  for  a  general  distribution  of  the  Bible 
were  spasmodic  and  after  long  intervals  of  time.  In 
fact,  we  think  there  was  no  attempt  made  to  penetrate  to 
the  villages  and  secluded  districts  remote  from  the  great 
thoroughfares.  The  circulation  of  the  Scriptures  in  the 
Persian  language  was  thought  to  be  extremely  danger- 
ous, and  possibly  impracticable,  in  other  places  than  the 
great  cities  or  among  Armenians  and  non-Mohammed- 
ans. Colporteurs  from  Tehran  have  traversed  every 
province  and  district  in  Central  and  Eastern  Persia  as 
far  south  as  Ispahan  and  Yezd  and  as  far  east  as  Merv 
in  Turkistan  and  Herat  in  Afghanistan.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  Bible-work  by  the  Tehran  mission  presented 
such  encouragement  to  increased  exertion  in  this  line  of 
Christian  work  that  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Soci- 
ety was  led  to  enter  the  field  and  to  establish  an  agency 
for  Southern  Persia,  while  at  the  same  time  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society  sent  out  an  agent  to  supervise  and  ex- 
tend the  work  in  Northern  Persia.  The  great  extent  to 
which  the  Scriptures  in  Persian  and  Turkish  have  been 
circulated  is  itself  a  result  worthy  of  all  the  effort  made 
for  it,  and  is  so  much  direct  missionary  labor  for  Mo- 


322  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

hammedans.  The  distribution  of  the  Bible  is  an  effi- 
cient means  now  available  for  letting  in  the  light  on 
Mohammedans,  who  are  supposed  to  be  so  inaccessible. 
It  is  sincerely  to  be  hoped  that  the  advantage  gained  by 
the  two  Bible  societies  will  be  duly  appreciated,  and 
that  their  occupation  of  the  country  will  not  be  in  name 
merely,  and  that  they  will  not  doze  over  their  posses- 
sions. I  believe  that  Mr.  Whipple,  the  agent  of  the 
American  Bible  Society,  has  endeavored  to  hold  the  po- 
sitions gained  in  all  his  broad  field,  extending  from  the 
Arras  to  the  Tejend  River  and  from  Ararat  to  the  Dom- 
ine  Kuh. 

Thirdly,  the  work  of  exploration.  The  mission- 
aries of  Tehran  have  personally  become  acquainted  with 
the  principal  places  in  all  the  provinces  of  the  central 
and  north-eastern  regions.  From  the  capital  they  have 
traveled  westward  to  Tabriz  and  Hamadan  and  north- 
ward to  Gelan  and  Mazandaran,  southward  to  Ispahan 
and  east  to  Mashhad.  It  is  some  indication  of  the  ab- 
sence of  such  exploration  in  this  field  to  say  that  we  have 
no  evidence  of  the  visit  of  any  foreign  missionary  to  the 
Armenian  settlement  of  Karaghan  and  to  Mashhad  until 
these  places  were  visited  by  a  missionary  of  Tehran,  ex- 
cept the  journey  of  Joseph  Wolff  to  the  latter  place 
early  in  this  century  and  while  on  his  way  to  Bokhara. 
This  we  say  with  no  purpose  of  boasting,  but  with  a 
view  to  show  the  condition  of  the  missionary  work. 
A  knowledge   of  the  field  is  a  desirable  attainment  as  a 


PERSIA:   EASTERN  MISSION.  323 

preparation  for  the  most  practicable  direction  of  labor. 
This  work  has  called  for  extended  tours  which,  though 
in  some  instances  made  with  haste,  yet  resulted  in  much 
religious  and  Christian  effort  in  places  both  near  to  and 
remote  from  Tehran.  Besides  these  specialties,  much 
has  been  accomplished  in  the  usual  lines  of  missionary 
work — namely,  by  preaching,  by  schools  and  by  the  or- 
ganization of  churches.  The  last-named  work  implies 
the  conversion  of  souls.  An  extended  preparatory  work 
has  been  done.  Important  results  have  been  attained, 
but  there  must  be,  we  believe,  an  unseen  influence  pro- 
ceeding from  the  labors  of  foreign  and  native  mission- 
aries, from  preaching,  teaching,  books  and  social  inter- 
course with  the  people,  far  greater  in  future  results  than 
any  fruits  now  visible. 

In  speaking  of  the  encouraging  attainments  and  pros- 
pects we  ought  to  mention  the  present  and  prospective 
eifect  on  Eastern  Persia  of  the  Russian  advance  on  the 
eastern  border.  The  insecurity  of  those  regions  pre- 
vented the  improvement  of  that  country,  and  made  that 
part  of  the  land  one  of  the  most  unpromising.  But  now 
a  railway  is  completed  along  the  border  to  the  confines  of 
Afghanistan,  which  makes  that  section  the  most  avail- 
able part  of  the  country  from  the  Caspian  Sea.  The 
friends  of  peace  and  civilization  must  hail  that  advance 
with  pleasure  as  a  promise  of  better  times  for  the  people 
of  those  long-desolated  regions.  The  railway  destined 
to  unite  the  Indus  and  the  Caspian  Sea  skirts  the  eastern 

18 


324  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

frontier,  aud  is  completed  for  more  than  half  that  dis- 
tance, and  trains  of  cars  are  running  to  the  Afghan  line. 
It  may  be  predicted  that  the  same  interests  which  make 
telegraphs  from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  Persian  Gulf 
necessary  will  also  make  railways  essential  along  the 
southern  base  of  the  Elburz  Mountains  to  the  Caucasus 
and  the  Black  Sea,  if  not  in  other  directions.  The  rail- 
way and  telegraph  are  efficient  agents  in  dispersing  the 
ignorance  and  superstition  in  which  the  religions  of  the 
Old  World  find  their  security.  Their  advent  is  to  be 
greeted  as  the  forerunner  of  a  higher  civilization  and 
of  Christianity  in  that  land. 

Persia  is  a  land  of  deserts,  and  is  known  in  the  pres- 
ent time  for  the  poverty  of  her  people  aud  for  the  charm 
which  the  history  and  romance  of  the  past  have  thrown 
about  her  name.  But  she  really  needs  only  the  moral 
elements  of  advancement  to  attain  a  place  of  eminence 
among  the  nations.  She  possesses  very  many  sources 
of  wealth.  Her  deserts  need  only  the  supply  of  water, 
which  seems  to  be  available,  in  order  to  make  them  ver- 
dant meadows  and  fruitful  fields.  Her  forests  abound 
in  valuable  and  rare  timber.  Her  mountains  conceal 
rich  ores  and  precious  stones.  Her  climate  surpasses 
that  of  every  other  Asiatic  country  in  salubrity.  The 
variety  of  the  productions  of  the  soil  is  very  great.  Her 
people  are  healthful,  athletic  and  frugal,  of  sprightly 
intellect,  strongly  emotional,  amiable  and  poetical  na- 
ture.    They  are  susceptible  of  culture  in  a  marked  de- 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  325 

gree.  Confident  in  the  sources  of  renovation  for  this 
land,  we  may  look  forward  to  a  new  Persia  to  arise  out 
of  the  old  and  prepared  to  utilize  the  elements  of  great- 
ness possessed  by  her.  To  one  looking  now  on  that 
country  as  it  is,  the  realization  of  this  expectation  may 
seem  to  be  very  far  in  the  future ;  but  the  elements  of 
change  have  been  fairly  introduced,  and  as  they  have 
never  been  before.  The  pressure  from  without  upon  the 
old  institutions  of  the  country  is  increasing.  The  future 
of  Persia  is  to  be  determined  almost  wholly  by  the  policy 
of  European  nations.  Her  destiny  seems  to  be  in  the 
power  of  England  and  Russia.  Mutual  jealousies  on 
their  part  may  lengthen  the  reign  of  the  present  order 
of  things  in  that  land.  On  the  contrary,  by  timely  en- 
couragement of  good  tendencies  and  Christian  influences 
they  may  soon  see  Persia  in  the  ranks  of  the  progres- 
sive nations  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Providential  Calls — Power  of  Social  Influences  —Plea  for  some  Iso- 
lated Communities — Abasabad  Georgians — Jews  of  Mashhad — 
A  College  in  Tehran,  Keasons  for. 

rriHERE  are  some  marked  openiDgs  and  providential 
calls  for  Christian  effort  in  Eastern  Persia.  The 
common  means  of  evangelization  will  be  used  :  there  is 
hardly  any  limit  to  the  possibility  of  success  in  the 
use  of  such  means.  The  conversion  of  the  people  must 
be  effected,  if  at  all,  by  the  teaching  of  the  Bible  by  the 
missionary.  But  Christianity  is  commended  to  men  for 
their  acceptance  by  other  things  than  the  written  word. 
Christ  is  preached  by  example  and  by  charity  as  well  as 
by  the  word.  Reverence  for  the  Bible  and  our  depend- 
ence upon  formal  acts  of  religious  worship  too  often 
may  be  substituted  for  that  social  life  and  converse,  and 
that  active  effort  to  relieve  the  necessities  of  mankind, 
which  in  Christ's  life  seemed  to  be  as  effectual  as  his 
word. 

In  missionary  work  among  Mohammedans  more  might 
be  done  by  social  life.  Public  and  formal  teaching  may 
not,  at  present,  be  practical)le  with  them  to  any  great 
extent,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  barrier  to  friendly  in- 
tercourse with  the    people.     Rigorous    as  the    law  of 

326 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  327 

apostasy  from  Islam  may  be,  and  while  it  may  prevent 
the  public,  formal  gathering  of  the  people  for  worship, 
yet  there  is  nothing  in  it  to  prevent  friendly  intercourse 
with  Persians.  This  kind  of  labor  will  be  most  practi- 
cable for  native  Christians,  and  will  naturally  become 
more  efficient  and  available  as  the  number  of  qualified 
assistants  is  increased  and  as  the  missionaries  find  time 
for  tours  in  the  cities  and  villages  of  the  secluded  dis- 
tricts, where  Europeans  are  unknown,  and  as  they  fol- 
low up  the  opportunities  given  in  places  where  they 
have  previously  been  or  those  in  which  the  way  for  them 
has  been  prepared  by  native  helpers. 

A  special  plea  might  be  made  in  behalf  of  certain  iso- 
lated communities  of  nominal  Christians  in  Eastern  Per- 
sia, such  as  that  at  Abasabad  in  Khorasan,  and  referred 
to  on  a  previous  page.  Missionary  effort  could  be  of 
little  avail  to  such  people  so  long  as  they  remain  in  their 
present  position.  Having  been  forced  to  become  Mo- 
hammedans, at  least  nominally,  they  must  be  put  in 
some  place  of  greater  security  than  that  which  they  now 
occupy  before  missionary  effort  could  be  made  with  any 
reasonable  prospect  of  success.  Their  removal  is  en- 
tirely practicable,  and  should  be  effected  at  once.  But 
it  can  be  done  only  by  the  intervention  in  their  behalf 
of  foreign  influence.  The  colony  is  not  large,  and  there- 
fore the  removal  is  practicable.  It  might  be  thought 
that  this  change  should  be  effected  by  themselves,  but 
the  suggestion  is  quite  unreasonable.     They  now  have 


328  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

certain  rights  and  reveoues  secured  by  firman  of  the 
shahs  which  they  would  lose  were  they  to  remove 
without  the  consent  of  the  king.  Being  Georgians, 
there  is  no  Christian  sect  with  which  they  could  affiliate 
except  it  be  with  Protestants.  Having  once  been  recog- 
nized as  Mohammedans,  it  would  be  unsafe  for  them  to 
be  known  now  as  Christians  unless  they  were  protected 
by  the  government  or  were  removed  to  a  place  where 
their  change  of  faith  would  either  be  unknown  or  would 
excite  no  opposition.  It  should  be  remembered  that  they 
know  of  no  affiliations  except  with  the  people  of  their 
own  colony  and  race.  It  is  unchristian  to  leave  them 
so  helpless  under  the  power  of  Mohammedans.  They 
should  be  taught  the  way  to  change  their  condition,  and 
should  be  objects  of  special  care,  as  they  are  subject  to 
special  evils. 

There  are  other  small  colonies  in  like  condition,  both 
of  Georgians  and  Jews.  Special  missionary  effi)rt  in 
behalf  of  such  colonies  with  a  view  to  tlie  improvement 
of  their  condition  in  material  as  well  as  spiritual  matters 
is  called  for,  and  would  be  productive  of  good  results 
and  be  justified  by  the  Church  at  home.  The  writer 
earnestly  hopes  and  prays  that  Christian  men  and  women 
of  means  may  be  led  to  consider  the  deplorable  state 
of  these  remnants  of  Christ's  flock,  and  be  constrained 
to  aid  in  their  deliverance.  The  sum  of  ten  thousand 
dollars  judiciously  expended  would  be  sufficient  to 
remove  this  Georgian  colony  to  or  near  the  capital,  and 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  329 

provide  them  with  all  necessary  means  in  the  way  of 
homes  and  schools.  The  Jewish  colony  in  Mashhad 
ought  to  have  been  removed  long  since.  No  Jewish  or 
Armenian  settlement  would  ever  be  made  in  that  city 
by  the  choice  of  these  people ;  they  were  carried  thither 
by  order  of  one  of  the  shahs,  and  have  been  captives  in 
that  city.  It  may  be  said  that  all  the  non-Mohammed- 
ans are  captives  in  Persia.  The  greater  part  of  these 
people  have  long  since  ceased  to  be  captives  in  fact,  but 
some  of  the  colonies  remain  virtually  such  to  this  time. 
It  is  to  the  latter  that  these  remarks  have  special  refer- 
ence. 

Not  the  least  among  the  opportunities  of  benefiting 
the  people  of  Persia  is  the  opening  in  Tehran  for  a  first- 
class  college  like  Roberts  College  at  Constantinople  or 
the  American  institution  at  Beyrout.  The  founding  of 
such  institutions  seems  to  be  the  order  of  the  day  on 
mission-fields.  The  fact  is  evidence  of  a  demand  and  a 
reason  for  them.  The  reasons  which  justify  the  use  of 
large  sums  of  money  for  such  schools  in  other  countries 
are  all  in  force  in  Tehran.  The  college  at  Oroomiah, 
though  efficient  and  desirable,  cannot  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  whole  kingdom  in  the  way  of  educational 
advantages,  and  does  not  assume  to  do  so.  It  must 
necessarily  receive  its  patronage  in  the  way  of  pupils 
from  the  Nestorians  or  from  Western  Persia,  to  whose 
wants  it  will  be  especially  adapted  by  location  and  by 
the  language  used.     If  such  a  school  may  be  expected 


330  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

to  be  useful  in  any  mission-field,  such  expectation  may 
be  formed  of  one  opened  in  the  capital  of  Persia. 
There  it  will  have  the  widest  influence  possible  in  that 
land.  It  will  reach  the  largest  number  of  the  people 
and  the  most  influential  classes.  It  would  necessarily 
offer  special  inducements  to  non-Mohammedans.  The 
Shah  has  a  college  in  Tehran  which  is  attended  by  youth 
from  all  the  religious  sects  and  races,  but  Christian  and 
Jewish  youth,  as  well  as  Mohammedan,  are  obligated  to 
some  Mohammedan  observances,  and  no  direct  Christian 
influences  can  here  find  a  place,  for  the  management  is 
distinctly  Mohammedan,  though  not  officiously  so.  It 
is  a  pity  that  Christian  youth  should  be  left  to  such  in- 
fluences. It  is  impossible  to  send  them  all  to  European 
schools.  The  people  are  too  poor  and  unlettered  to  pro- 
vide for  their  own  wants  or  to  meet  their  own  wishes  in 
this  particular.  Their  poverty  will  compel  them  to  ac- 
cept Mohammedan  schools  so  far  as  these  meet  their 
wants.  The  people  most  eager  for  educational  advan- 
tages are  the  non-Mohammedans.  Men  who  have 
wealth  to  consecrate  to  a  good  purpose  will  find  in  the 
round  of  the  mission-fields  no  country  more  destitute  of 
Christian  enterprise  than  Persia,  and  no  sphere  or  place 
of  educational  work  more  promising  than  the  capital  of 
the  Shah. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Bible  in  Persia — No  Evidence  of  Christian  Literature  in  Per- 
sian in  Early  Times — The  Bible  First  in  Importance — First  Ver- 
sion of  any  Part  of  the  Bible  in  Persian — Version  of  Tus — Ver- 
sion of  Kaffa — Version  of  Wheeloc  and  Plerson — Earlier  Con- 
jectured Version — Version  of  Nadir  Shah — Version  of  Col.  Col- 
brook — Version  of  L.  Sebastiani — Version  of  Henry  Martyn — 
Version  of  the  Psalter  by  Henry  Martyn — Dates  of  Publication 
of  Different  Editions— Glen's  Version  of  the  Psalms — Poetical 
and  Prophetical  Books — Version  of  the  Historical  Books  by 
Pinkerton  and  Lee — Publication  of  Glen's  Version  of  the  Psalms 
and  Proverbs — Glen's  Version  of  the  Old  Testament,  printed  at 
Edinburgh^-Kobinson's  Version  of  the  Old  Testament — Version 
of  the  Psalms  by  Mirza  Abraham — Calcutta  Edition  of  Martyn's 
Version — Lithograph  Edition  of  Kobinson's  Version — Bruce's 
Version — Versions  in  Turkish — Amirclianjanz's  Version  in 
Transcaucasian  Tartar — Publication  of  the  Transcaucasian  Ver- 
sion— Labaree's  Version  in  Azarbijanee — Bassett's  Version  in 
Turkmanee — Difficulties  in  the  Way  of  Translating  in  Persian — 
Great  Size  of  the  Volume  of  the  Persian  Bible — New  Edition  in 
Small  Size — Lodiana  Edition — Efforts  in  the  Way  of  the  Circula- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  in  Persia — Favorable  Attitude  of  the  Per- 
sian Government  toward  Christian  Literature — Other  Religious 
Books  in  Persian — By  Whom  and  When  Made — Books  in  Per- 
sian Turkish. 

nriHE  Persian  language  and  literature  bear  no  evidence 
of  the  presence  in  former  ages  of  a  Christian  liter- 
ature in  the  Persian  tongue.     It  is  reasonable  to  believe 

331 


332  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

that  if  there  had  been  any,  some  record  of  it  would  have 
remained  or  marked  traces  of  its  influence  would  have 
been  seen  in  Persian  books,  but  neither  evidence  is 
found. 

Of  modern  evangelical  agencies  in  Persia,  the  first  in 
importance  is  the  Scriptures  in  the  languages  spoken  in 
that  country,  especially  the  Persian  tongue.  Other 
books  are  important  aids  to  the  missionary,  but  he  will 
be  greatly  hindered  without  the  Scriptures  in  the  vernac- 
ular. Though  translations  of  parts  of  the  Bible  into  the 
Persian  were  made  many  centuries  ago,  the  general  cir- 
culation of  the  book  has  here,  as  in  other  places,  awaited 
the  efforts  of  the  Bible  and  missionary  societies. 

The  first  version  of  any  part  of  the  Bible  into  Persian 
was  a  translation  of  the  Pentateuch  by  Jacob,  a  Jewish 
rabbi  of  the  city  of  Tus  in  Khorasan.  The  date  of  the 
translation  is  unknown,  but  it  is  thought  that  it  cannot 
be  earlier  than  the  eighth  or  later  than  the  tenth  century. 
This  version  was  first  printed  in  Constantinople  in  1546 
with  the  Hebrew  text,  the  Chaldee  Targum  of  Onkelos 
and  the  Arabic  version  of  Sudias  Gaon. 

Abaka  of  the  Moghul  dynasty  died  in  A.  D.  1282. 
He  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  Christian.  Soon  after 
his  death  the  Gospels  were  translated  into  Persian.  A 
Persian  manuscript  version  of  the  four  Gospels  was  in 
the  possession  of  Dr.  Pocock,  and  was  dated  A.  D.  1314. 
It  was  said  to  have  been  first  printed  in  the  London 
Polyglot  by  Bishop  Walton. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  333 

It  is  stated  also  that  a  version  of  the  four  Gospels  is 
printed  in  the  London  Polyglot  which  is  conjectured  to 
have  been  written  at  Kaffa,  a  town  of  the  Kriraea,  by  a 
Roman  Catholic,  and  in  A.  D.  1341.  It  is  believed  to 
have  been  made  from  the  Peshito  Syriac. 

A  version  of  the  Gospels  was  begun  by  Wheeloc, 
professor  of  Arabic  in  Cambridge,  and  after  his  death 
was  completed  by  Pierson  and  published  in  1657.  The 
editors  of  this  version  are  said  to  have  used  the  same 
manuscript  as  that  from  which  the  version  in  the  Lou- 
don Polyglot  was  printed.  They  are  supposed  also  to 
have  possessed  two  other  manuscripts. 

It  is  conjectured  that  there  was  a  much  older  vei'sion 
of  the  Gospels,  which  De  Long  thinks  was  translated 
in  1388,  and  sent  by  Jerome  Xavier,  a  Jesuit,  from  Agra 
to  the  College  Romanum. 

The  next  effort  to  make  a  version  of  the  Scriptures 
into  Persian  was  that  of  Nadir  Shah.  With  reference 
to  this  Hanway  appears  to  be  the  principal  source  of  in- 
formation. He  says,  in  substance,  that  toward  the  close 
of  A.  D.  1740,  Nadir  Shah  caused  a  translation  of  the 
four  Gospels  to  be  made  into  Persian.  The  work  was 
placed  under  the  supervision  of  his  secretary,  Mirza 
Mahde,  a  noted  writer  and  scholar.  He,  being  empow- 
ered for  this  purpose,  "summoned  several  Armenian 
bishops  and  priests,  together  with  divers  missionaries  of 
the  Romish  Church  and  Persian  mullahs,  to  meet  him 
at  Ispahan.     Many  of  the  latter  gave  bribes  in  order  to 


334  PEBSIA:   EASTERN  MISSION. 

escape  the  task.  "  Among  the  Christians  summoned  on 
this  occasion,  only  one  Romish  priest  born  in  Persia 
was  sufficient  master  of  the  language  to  enter  upon  a 
work  of  so  critical  a  nature/'  "  As  to  the  Armenians, 
though  they  are  born  subjects  of  Persia  and  intermixed 
with  the  inhabitants,  yet  there  are  very  few  of  them 
who  understand  the  language  fundamentally/'  This 
translation  was  dressed  up  with  all  the  glosses  which 
the  fables  and  perplexities  of  the  Koran  could  warrant. 
"  Their  chief  guide  was  an  ancient  Arabic  and  Persian 
translation/'  Father  de  Vigues,  a  French  missionary, 
was  also  employed  in  this  work,  in  which  he  made  use 
of  the  Vulgate  edition.  ^' The  translators  were  but  six 
months  in  completing  this  translation  and  transcribing 
several  fair  copies  of  it."  In  May,  A.  D.  1741,  the  work 
was  presented  to  Nadir,  then  encamped  with  his  court 
near  Tehran.  In  this  interview  the  Shah  ridiculed  some 
parts,  and  also  ridiculed  the  Jews,  also  Mohammed  and 
Ale  alike.  He  remarked  that  the  evangelists  did  not 
agree,  ^'  therefore  he  must  remain  under  the  same  diffi- 
culty that  he  was  under  before;"  that  out  of  (both), 
if  it  pleased  God  to  give  him  health,  he  would  en- 
gage to  make  a  religion  much  better  than  any  which 
had  yet  been  practiced  by  mankind. 

We  are  told  that  as  the  style  in  which  the  gospel  of  the 
Polyglot  is  written  has  long  been  antiquated  in  Ispahan, 
several  effijrts  have  been  made  during  the  present  century 
to  i^roduce  a  version  in  the  polished  dialect  now  spoken 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  335 

by  the  Persians.  A  trauslation  of  the  four  Gospels  was 
made  under  the  direction  of  Col.  Col  brook,  and  pub- 
lished at  Calcutta  in  1804,  but  appears  not  to  have  been 
extensively  circulated.  Rev.  L.  Sebastiani  completed  a 
translation  of  the  New  Testament  to  near  the  end  of  the 
Epistles  in  the  year  1812.  A  thousand  copies  of  the 
Gospels  of  this  version  were  printed  at  Serampore  in  the 
same  year.  This  version  is  said  to  have  been  designed 
for  the  use  of  the  Christians  in  Persia.  Sebastiani  had 
resided  at  the  court  of  Persia.  Sabat  and  Mirza  Fitrut 
were  employed  by  Henry  Martyn  to  translate  the  whole 
of  the  New  Testament.  These  men  had  been  previously 
employed  as  translators,  the  one  at  Serampore  and  the 
other  by  Col.  Colbrook.  This  translation  was  completed 
in  1808.  But  as  it  was  thought  to  abound  too  much  in 
Arabic  terras,  Henry  Martyn  decided  to  visit  Persia  for 
the  purpose  of  effecting  a  revision  in  more  idiomatic  Per- 
sian. He  entered  Shiraz  in  1811,  and  remained  there 
nearly  a  year.  Having  completed  the  revision,  he  re- 
turned toward  England,  passing  through  Tehran  and 
Tabriz,  but  died  at  Tokat  in  Asia  Minor  a.  d.  1812. 
Manuscript  copies  of  his  revision  are  in  the  library  of 
the  British  legation  at  Tehran.  A  copy  was  presented 
to  the  Shah.  Prince  Galitzin,  the  head  of  the  Russian 
Bible  Society,  caused  an  edition  of  five  thousand  copies 
of  Martyn's  version  to  be  printed  at  St.  Petersburg  for 
circulation  in  Western  Persia. 

The  Psalter  and  New  Testament,  translated  by  Henry 


336  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

Martyii,  were  printed  at  Calcutta  in  1816.  The  former 
was  reprinted  in  Loudon  in  1824,  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment also,  edited  by  Dr.  Lee,  in  1827.  The  New  Test- 
ament was  reprinted  in  London  in  1837.  An  edition  of 
three  thousand  copies  of  the  New  Testament  was  printed 
at  Edinburgh  to  accompany  the  translation  of  the  Old 
Testament  made  by  Dr.  Glen,  then  being  printed  in  Ed- 
inburgh. The  edition  published  in  St.  Petersburg  in 
1815  is  said  to  have  been  so  incorrect  that  the  publica- 
tion was  stopped  by  the  Russian  Bible  Society.  The 
version  of  the  New  Testament  made  by  Henry  Martyn 
is  the  only  one  which  has  been  circulated  to  any  extent. 
The  work  has  many  excellences  and  also  many  defects. 
Among  the  former  may  be  mentioned  the  evident  ad- 
herence of  the  translator  to  the  Greek  text  and  the  crit- 
ical knowledge  possessed  by  him  of  that  text.  One  of 
the  chief  defects  is  redundance,  even  more  than  is  found 
in  writings  of  native  Persians.  This  defect  has  greatly 
augmented  the  size  of  the  volume,  as  may  be  known 
from  the  fact  that  while  the  English  version  contains 
about  two  hundred  thousand  words,  that  made  by  Mar- 
tyn has  over  six  hundred  thousand  words.  The  size  of 
the  book  has  been  a  serious  hindrance  to  the  general 
circulation  of  the  Scriptures  in  Persia. 

The  Rev.  William  Glen,  of  the  Scottish  mission  at 
Astrakhan,  completed  a  version  of  the  Psalms,  and  in 
1826  was  employed  by  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  to  make  a  translation  of  the  poetical  and  pro- 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  337 

phetical  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  At  the  same  time 
Mirza  Jaffir  was  employed  by  the  same  society  to  produce 
a  version  of  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament  at 
St.  Petersburg,  under  direction  of  Dr.  Pinkerton  and  Dr. 
Lee.  The  book  of  Genesis,  published  in  London  in  1827, 
is  said  to  be  the  only  part  of  Mirza  Jaffir's  work  which 
has  been  printed.  The  books  of  Psalms  and  Proverbs, 
translated  by  Dr.  Glen  and  revised  by  Mr.  Greenfield 
and  Mr.  Selden,  were  published  in  London  in  1830-31 
in  an  edition  of  one  thousand  copies.  Another  edition 
was  issued  in  1836. 

In  1847  the  entire  Old  Testament,  as  translated  by 
Mr.  Glen,  was  printed  at  Edinburgh.  The  entire  Old 
Testament  was  translated  by  the  Rev.  T.  Robinson  of 
Poonah  in  India,  and  completed  nine  years  before  the 
publication  of  Mr.  Glen's  version. 

In  1834  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  pub- 
lished an  edition  of  a  version  of  the  Psalms  made  by 
Mirza  Abraham  of  East  India  College,  Haileybury,  and 
revised  by  Mr.  Johnson  of  that  college.  The  texts  used 
were  the  Authorized  English  version  and  the  Hebrew. 
In  1842  five  thousand  copies  of  Marty n's  version  of  the 
New  Testament  were  printed  by  the  lithographic  process 
in  Calcutta.  This  was  an  edition  so  wretchedly  executed 
as  to  be  unreadable  by  Persians,  and  a  disgrace  to  all 
foreign  attempts  to  print  Persian. 

In  1844  five  thousand  copies  of  Genesis  and  part  of 
Exodus,  as   translated   by  Robinson,  were  also   litho- 


338  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

graphed.     Thus  it  appears  that  much  was  done  in  the 
way  of  ^preparation  of  the  word  in  Persian.* 

Although  these  Scriptures  have  not  been  so  generally 
circulated  as  to  affect  the  masses  of  the  people  in  Persia, 
yet  copies  of  several  of  these  versions  are  frequently  to 
be  found  in  the  libraries  of  Persians.  The  next  effort 
at  a  version  of  the  New  Testament  in  Persian  was  made 
by  Rev.  Robert  Bruce.  He  had  been  a  missionary  of 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  India,  and  had  some 
knowledge  of  the  Persian  as  spoken  in  that  country. 
He  removed  to  Persia  in  1869,  and  settled  in  Julfa,  near 
Ispahan,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  his  translation- 
work.  This  was  prosecuted  in  connection  with  mission- 
work  until  the  spring  of  1881,  when  the  manuscript  was 
sent  to  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  for  publi- 
cation. A  preliminary  examination  of  the  work  was 
made  by  Professor  Palmer  of  Cambridge  and  by  Rev. 
James  Bassett,  then  on  his  return  to  Tehran.  The 
manuscript  was  then  revised  by  Mr.  Bruce  and  Profes- 
sor Palmer,  and  published  for  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  at  Leipsic  in  1882.  The  publication  was 
supervised  by  Mr.  Bruce.  This  version  follows,  at  the 
discretion  of  the  translator,  the  text  of  the  Revised  Ver- 
sion published  in  1881  and  the  Authorized  Version  or 
textus  receptus. 

*  The  foregoing  statements  touching  the  authorship  of  these  ver« 
sions  are  made  on  the  authority  of  Bible  in  All  Lands,  Hanway,  and 
the  History  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  339 

Thus  there  have  been  made  in  the  Persian  one  version 
of  the  Pentateuch,  two  versions  of  the  entire  Old  Testa- 
ment, three  versions  of  the  whole  New  Testament  and 
five  versions  of  the  four  Gospels,  besides  the  versions 
of  the  Gospels  included  in  the  translations  of  the  entire 
New  Testament.  The  versions  now  most  used  in  Persia 
are  Martyn's  of  the  New  and  Glen's  version  of  the  Old 
Testament. 

As  a  dialect  of  the  Turkish  language  is  spoken  by- 
many  thousand  people  of  Northern  Persia,  we  ought  not 
to  omit  some  mention  of  what  has  been  done  to  give  the 
Scriptures  to  the  Turkish-speaking  people  of  that  country. 

The  missionaries  of  the  Basle  society  in  Southern 
Georgia  translated  the  New  Testament  into  the  Trans- 
caucasian  Tartar.  By  this  name  is  designated  the  dialect 
of  the  Turkish  spoken  south  of  the  Caucasus  Mountains. 
The  manuscript  was  long  in  the  possession  of  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  The  translation  of  the  Gos- 
pel by  Matthew  in  this  dialect  was  printed  by  that 
society  in  1836.  The  translation  is  understood  to  have 
been  made  by  Amirchanjauz,  an  Armenian  in  the  employ 
of  that  mission. 

In  1872  a  version  of  the  Gospel  by  Matthew  in  the 
Azarbijan  Turkish  was  made  by  Mr.  Labaree  in  Oroo- 
miah  for  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  published  by 
him  in  Leipsic.  The  term  "Azarbijan  Turkish '^  de- 
notes the  dialect  of  the  Turkish  which  is  spoken  in  the 
province  of  Azarbijan  in  Western  Persia.     It  is  essen- 

19 


340  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

tially  the  same  as  the  dialect  called  Transcaucasian  Tar- 
tar. In  1876,  Mr.  Labaree  completed  and  published  for 
the  Bible  Society,  in  Constantinople,  a  translation  of  the 
Gospel  by  John. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  version  of  the  New  Testament  in 
the  Transcaucasian  Tartar  was  being  made  in  Tiflis  for 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  by  Abraham,  a 
son  of  the  above-named  Amirchanjanz.  Previous  to 
this  Abraham  was  a  missionary  of  the  Basle  society  and 
was  stationed  for  a  time  at  Tabriz.  His  work  is  under- 
stood to  be  a  revision  of  the  manuscript  prepared  by 
his  father.  His  work  was  completed  in  1878  and  pub- 
lished in  London. 

In  1878-79  a  version  of  the  Gospel  by  Matthew  in 
the  Takah  Turkmanee  was  made  by  Kev.  James  Bassett 
in  Tehran  for  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 
It  was  published  by  that  society  in  February,  1880. 
The  translator  was  aided  by  a  Jew  of  Mashhad.  The 
version  was  designed  for  Turkmans  of  Ahal,  Merv  and 
North-eastern  Persia.  The  language  of  these  people 
is  a  branch  of  the  Turkish  known  as  Gaghatai.  All 
the  foregoing  versions  in  Turkish  follow  the  Greek  text 
of  the  receptus. 

No  versions  of  the  Scriptures  or  translations  of  other 
books  into  the  Armenian  language  have  been  made  in 
Persia,  though  there  are  many  Armenians  in  that  coun- 
try and  their  vernacular  is  much  affected  by  the  Persian 
tongue. 


PERSIA  :   EASTERN  MISSION.  341 

The  Syriac  language  is  used  iu  Persia  by  the  Nestor- 
iaus  only.  The  history  of  the  Syriac  version  belongs 
to  the  era  and  country  of  the  Syrian  Church,  but  it  will 
be  in  place  here  to  note  what  has  been  done  in  Persia  in 
the  way  of  Syriac  versions.  In  1836,  Dr.  Perkins  be- 
gan a  translation  of  the  New  Testament  from  the  Greek 
text  into  the  vernacular  or  modern  Syriac  of  the  Nes- 
torians.  The  work  was  completed  in  1846,  and  pub- 
lished with  the  ancient  version  in  parallel  columns. 
Immediately  on  completion  of  this  book  Mr.  Perkins 
began  a  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  from  the 
Hebrew  text  into  the  vernacular  of  the  Nestorians. 
The  New  Testament  was  printed  at  Oroomiah  from  type 
made  by  Mr.  Breath  of  Oroomiah.  This  version  of  the 
Old  Testament  was  completed  in  1852,  and  thus  the 
whole  Bible  was  given  to  the  people  in  their  vernac- 
ular. 

The  difficulties  to  be  met  in  making  a  good  trans- 
lation in  the  Persian  are  very  great.  These  are  greater 
in  the  use  of  the  Persian  than  of  the  Turkish.  In  the 
latter  there  is  a  notable  regularity  in  the  formation  of 
all  the  parts  of  speech.  The  vocabulary  also  need  not 
be  supplied  from  the  Arabic.  But  the  Arabic  element 
can  hardly  be  dispensed  with  in  the  Persian.  It  gives 
much  diversity  both  as  to  construction  and  vocabulary. 
The  modern  Persian  is  deficient  in  the  latter  element. 
This  deficiency  is  supplied  from  the  Arabic,  and  the 
words  used  to  express  religious  thought  are  such  terms 


342  PERSIA:  EASTERN  MISSION. 

as  the  populace  do  not  employ.  The  conciseness  of  the 
Greek  and  of  the  Hebrew  is  poorly  represented  in  the 
redundance  of  the  Persian,  and  it  is  with  difficulty  that 
the  translation  of  the  Scriptures  can  be  brought  into 
any  fair-sized  volume.  As  late  as  1872  the  only  editions 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  in  Persian  were  octavo 
volumes  of  1658  and  532  pages  respectively.  The  only 
edition  of  the  whole  Bible  was,  as  previously  stated,  a 
volume  of  2190  octavo  pages,  which  after  a  great  re- 
duction from  its  cost,  could  not  be  sold  for  less  than 
eight  karans,  or  about  one-third  or  one-fourth  of  the 
usual  monthly  wages  of  a  Persian  laborer.  This  form 
and  size  of  the  Bible  were  thought  to  be  necessary, 
owing  to  the  model  form  of  the  Arabic  letter.  The 
evil  has  not  yet  been  wholly  remedied,  yet  any  one  who 
will  observe  the  small  compass  into  which  the  Koran  is 
brought,  and  in  which  some  Persian  books  are  written, 
will  see  that  reduction  is  yet  practicable.  The  small 
volume  of  the  entire  Bible  which  the  courteous  superin- 
tendent of  publication  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  Rev.  William  Wright,  caused  to  be  printed  at 
the  request  of  the  mission  in  Tehran,  is  a  decided  im- 
provement in  the  way  of  size,  but  is  only  a  step  in  the 
right  direction.  The  translation  itself  is  verbose,  and 
the  printers  of  England  and  throughout  Europe  who 
use  the  Persian  type  do  not  understand  the  language  so 
as  to  make  the  best  use  of  the  type. 

In  1880  an  edition  of  i\\Q  New  Testament  was  printed 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  3IISSI0N.  343 

for  the  American  Bible  Society  at  the  mission -press  in 
Lodiana  by  the  lithographic  process.  It  is  a  16mo  vol- 
ume of  920  pages.  But  the  indistinctness  caused  by 
printing  so  closely  and  in  so  fine  a  letter  by  this  process 
has  made  the  book  available  to  the  best  readers  only. 
What  has  been  done  in  the  way  of  the  circulation  of 
the  Scriptures  in  Persia  is  shown,  in  part,  by  the  reports 
of  the  different  missions  in  that  land.  All  the  missions 
have  done  something  in  this  line.  In  fact,  it  has  been  a 
conspicuous  part  of  their  labors.  These  efforts  began 
with  the  tours  of  the  eccentric  AVolff.  But,  judging 
from  the  manner  in  which  he  traveled  and  the  length 
of  his  journeys,  and  the  state  of  the  countries  through 
which  he  passed,  it  seems  fair  to  conclude  that  he  could 
not  at  any  time  have  taken  any  large  number  of  books 
with  him.  The  efforts  of  the  missionaries  of  the  Basle 
society  and  of  the  American  Board  were  confined  to 
North-western  Persia.  The  latter  missionaries  were  es- 
pecially concerned  with  the  work  in  the  Syriac  language. 
The  earliest  missionaries  had  much  to  do  to  prepare  the 
books  and  the  way  before  the  work  of  distribution  could 
begin.  The  missionaries  of  the  London  Society  for  Pro- 
moting the  Gospel  amongst  the  Jews  accomplished  much, 
but  their  work  was  chiefly  with  Hebrews.  In  1870-71, 
Bible-distribution  was  carried  on  in  the  vicinity  of  Is- 
pahan by  the  agents  of  Mr.  Bruce  of  Julfa.  In  1870 
bookstalls  were  opened  in  Tehran,  Tabriz  and  Hama- 
dan,  and  kept  by  Nestorians  under  the  direction  of  the 


344  PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION. 

missionaries  of  Oroomiah.  These  dep6ts  were  not, 
however,  centres  of  circulation  for  the  country  at  large 
nor  for  the  districts  in  which  they  were  placed.  They 
were  designed  especially  for  the  work  in  the  cities  in 
which  they  were  located.  The  opening  of  the  mission 
in  Tehran  in  1872  and  of  Tabriz  in  1873  was  attended 
with  systematic  arrangements  for  the  circulation  of  the 
Scriptures  throughout  the  northern  half  of  Persia. 

It  is  an  encouraging  fact  that  the  Persian  government 
has  made  no  objection  to  the  Bible-work  in  that  king- 
dom. It  has  prohibited  neither  the  production  of 
Christian  books  nor  the  distribution  of  these  works  by 
sale  and  gift.  The  importation  of  Bibles  and  other 
books  has  not  been  forbidden. 

There  is  not  much  to  be  said  of  other  books  than  the 
Bible  in  the  Persian  tongue,  for  the  reason  that  there 
are  but  few.  So  far  as  any  are  known  in  Persia  at  this 
time,  they  are  the  following,  to  wit:  Mezon  at  Haek, 
"The  Scale  of  Truth,''  a  work  on  the  Mohammedan 
controversy,  and  composed  by  Rev.  Dr.  C.  G.  Pfander, 
one  of  the  Basle  missionaries ;  The  Key  of  Mysteries,  a 
work  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  also  by  Pfander; 
Keith  on  Prophecy,  translated  by  Rev.  J.  L.  Merrick,  of 
the  American  mission  in  Oroomiah,  in  the  early  years 
of  that  mission.  A  Prayer-book  and  a  Bible  history 
have  been  prepared  by  Rev.  Robert  Bruce  of  Julfa. 
Hymns  in  Persian,  The  Tract  Primer  and  The  Shorter 
Catechism  have  been  translated  by  Rev.  James  Bassett, 


PERSIA  :  EASTERN  MISSION.  345 

and  a  translation  of  the  first  part  of  Bunyan's  Pilgrim^ a 
Progress  has  been  made  by  Rev.  Joseph  L.  Potter. 
In  the  Turkish  of  Persia  or  Azarbijan  we  have  the 
Tract  Primer,  translated  by  Rev.  J.  N.  Wright,  and  a 
small  collection  of  hymns  prepared  at  first  in  Oroo- 
miah. 


INDEX, 


A. 

Abasabad,  colony  of,  327. 
Abraham  Mirza,  116. 

priest,  111. 

Usta,  241. 
Accessions  to  churches,  72. 
Acmetha,  28, 
Adultery,  313. 
Advance  of  Russians,  323. 
Advantages  of  Tehran,  100,  311. 

from  foreign  influence,  313. 
Ahmad,  a  writer,  63. 
Aladdin's  lamp,  6. 
Alcoholic  drinks,  55. 
Alexander,  Dr.,  238. 
Almood,  27. 
Amene  Sultan,  250. 
American  Board,  75. 
Ancient  cities,  27. 
Annual  report,  277,  278. 
Antiquities,  28. 
Apocryphal  books,  28. 
Apostasy,  penalty  of,  34,  99. 
Appearance  of  the  people,  29. 
Appointments,  females,  29. 
Archbishop,  opposition  of,  106,  107. 
Armenian  churches,  86. 

drunkenness.  111. 

exorcists,  40. 

prostitution,  98. 

Russians,  86. 

schools,  86. 

women,  68. 
Armenians,  objects  of  labor,  34. 
Arsacia,  27. 
Arsenic,  use  of,  56. 
Aryans,  27. 
Asp  Davon,  77. 
Assassins,  27. 


Astrology,  41. 
Aubdar,  110. 


B. 


Baba,  a  colporteur,  99,  108,  114. 

Babilla,  119,  125,  128. 

Baker,  Dr.,  112. 

Baku,  mission  in,  156,  159. 

Baptism  of  Jews,  203. 

Bargashod,  198,  199,  200. 

Bartlett,  Miss  Cora,  239,  262. 

Basle,  Society  of,  113. 

Bassett,  Rev.  James,  removal  to 
Tehran,  74-76,  99,  113 ;  goes  to 
Ispahan,  121 ;  journey  to  Tiflis, 
154;  obtains  orders  for  Jews, 
176;  translation-work,  178, 179  ; 
at  Masbhad,  187 ;  goes  to  Ham- 
adan,  198 ;  return  to  America, 
209,  210;  return  to  Persia,  220- 
222 ;  reply  to  British  minister, 
227;  appeal  to  Persian  minister, 
230,  231 ;  supervision  of  chapel, 
245-249;  return  to  America, 
268. 
Mrs.  A.  W.,  135. 

Miss  Sarah,  163,  234;  returns  from 
America,  252;  reports  girls' 
school,  277. 

Baubes,  51,  173;  temper  of,  182; 
tenets  of,  182;  Ismael,  183. 

Beginning  of  the  mission,  99,  100. 

Belief,  36. 

Benjamin,  S.  G.  W.,  248,  249,  279. 

Bible,  an  oracle,  41  ;  distribution  of, 
125 ;  division  of  Bible-work,  216- 
218;  fruits  of,  297,298;  Bible- 
work,  321 ;  societies,  322 ;  in 
Persia,   331-345;   size  of,  342; 

347 


348 


INDEX. 


circulation  of,  343,  344  ;  and  the 
Persian  government,  344. 

Bliss,  Rev.  Dr.,  124. 

Boghe,  Firdose,  132. 

Bohmain,  village  of,  111. 

Book  of  Ezra,  28. 

Bookroom,  139. 

Books  of  the  Jews,  41,  52,  100  ,- 
Christian,  124;  in  the  Armenian, 
164  ;  kind  needed,  298,  299. 

Boys'  school,  234. 

British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 
in  Tiflis,  160;  publications  of,  in 
Persian,  164;  spirit  of,  164,  165. 

British  and  Foreign  Office,  247. 

British  legation,  94. 

British  minister,  212,  213:  order  of, 
213;  reply  of,  225-228,  247. 

Bruce,  Rev.  Robert,  74,  99 ;  work  of, 
in  Julfa,  123  ;  in  Hamadan,  177, 
215;  revision  by,  338;  works  of, 
in  Persian,  344. 

Building,  difficulties  of,  245. 

o. 

Calcutta  edition  of  the   Scriptures, 

337. 
Captive  colonies,  327. 
Carepet,  187,  212. 
Caspar,  147,  167,  212. 
Caspian  coast,  26. 

sea,  25  ;  experience  on,  221. 
Casveen,  24,  27;  gate,  112. 
Catechism,  269,  344. 
Cemetery,  235. 
Censor  of  the  press,  178. 
Chapel   in  Tehran,  207 ;   closing  of, 

229,  231,  235,  236. 
Chaplaincy  for  Tehran,  237. 
Character  of  foreigners,  97. 

of  Mr.  Scott,  207. 
Characteristics  of  Persians,  34. 
Chess,  57. 

Children  of  Jews,  166, 167. 
Christianity  and  Islam,  295,  296. 
Circulation  of  the  Bible,  343. 
Cities  of  antiquity,  27. 

of  the  Bible,  28. 
Class  of  young  men,  136. 
Closing  of  the  chapel  on  account  of 

orders,  229. 
Coan,  Rev.  G.  W.,  121,  122. 
Colbrook,  Col,,  version  by,  335. 
Cold  on  the  plain,  83. 
College  of  the  Shah,  98. 


College  for  Persia,  319. 
Colony,  89;  in  Mashhad,  329. 

captive,  plea  for,  327. 
Colportage,  124. 
Colporteurs,  98;  for  Yezd,  125,  126  j 

trial  of,  127,  171-174.  ' 
Concentration  of  wealth,  313. 
Concubinage,  56,  105. 
Conditions  of  grant  of  land,  236. 
Confession  of  Faith,  169. 
Congregations,  permanent,  291. 
Congress,  acts  of,  relating  to  Persia, 

247,  248. 
Construction  of  chapel,  105,  107. 
Contrasts  in  fields,  25,  26,  27,  31. 
Controversial  books,  49,  52,  53. 

spirit,  50. 
Controversy,  52,  53;  with  mullahs, 
286. 

the  Mohammedan,  298, 
Converts,  how  received,  296. 

Mohammedan,  170,  216. 

male   and   female,  proportion  of, 
72,  73. 

of  Jews  in  Hamadan,  175-177. 
Copy  of  orders  of  the   authorities, 

231. 
Costume  of  the  women,  65,  68. 
Course  of  study  in  schools,  297. 
Criticism,  307. 
Cruelty  of  mullahs,  51. 
Curing  by  prayer,  44. 
Customs,  90. 


Damavand,  Mt.,  23,  25,  2&,  80,  83, 
89. 

Damgan,  city  of,  27. 

Darooz,  village  of.  111. 

Baud,  Mirza,  193. 

Dead,  disposal  of,  90. 

Death  of  Mr.  Scott,  207. 

Deception,  a  trait,  53,  55. 

Defence  of  the  faith,  52. 

Demoniacal  possession,  39. 

Departed    spirits,    superstition   con- 
cerning, 43, 

Departure  of  Mr.  Scott,  207. 

Destiny  of  Persia,  325. 

Deves  or  devils,  37. 

Difference  in  fields,  24. 

Difficulties  of  the  field,  301-310,  315- 
318, 
of  the  translation-work,  341. 

Dispersed  state  of  sects,  317. 


INDEX. 


349 


Disposition  of  the  sects,  94. 

Disreputable  pursuits,  90. 

Division  of  mission- premises,  233. 

Divorces,  171. 

Doctrine  of  succession,  .35. 

Doctrines,  eflfective,  293,  296. 

Dress,  29. 

Drunkenness  at  night,  147. 


E. 

Easter  in  school,  276. 

Eastern  Persian  Mission,  23,  844. 

Easton,  Mr.,  113,  121. 

Eelkhanah,  203. 

Eclipse  of  the  sun,  237. 

Educational  institutions,  302. 

Effect  of  polygamy,  64. 

of  Sheahism,  59. 
Elburz  Mountains,  24,  83. 
Encouragements,  310,  314,  318,  324, 

325. 
English  chapel,  effort  for,  235,  236, 
237. 

service  of  Church,  182,  249. 
Environments  of  Tehran,  80. 
Episodes,  153,  251. 
Errors  of  reports,  preface,  8. 
Esteem  of  learning,  48. 
Esther,  Queen,  28. 
European  governments,  relation  of, 

to  Persia,  317. 
Europeans,  number  of,  85. 
Evil  eye,  38. 

spirits,  38. 
Exorcism,  39,  40. 

Exploration,    success    and    use    of, 
322. 


P. 

Famine  in  Hamadan,  114. 
Farhaud  Mirza,  131. 
Fatima,  59. 
Fattah  Ale  Shah,  53. 
Fears  of  the  Armenians,  107. 
Females,  appearance  of,  29. 
Feruzbahrom,  village  of,  109. 
Fictions  of  the  Shah,  preface,  5. 
Filth  of  Persia,  30. 
First  efforts  of  missionaries,  284. 
Flight  of  colporteurs,  126. 
Floods,  114. 

Foreigners,  character  of,  97,  309. 
protection  of,  310. 


Or. 

Gambling,  57. 

Gardens,  29. 

Gate,  Casveen,  86. 

Ghouls,  37. 

Girls' school,  135,  219  ;  report  of,  262, 

267,  269,  275,  280. 
Governor,  140. 
Great  cities,  27. 
Grouping  of  missions,  23. 
Guebers,  90,  93. 
Guergues,  119. 

H. 

Hajah  Mullah  Ismael,  182,  183. 

Ahmad,  52. 
Hamadan,  28,114-116,119,132,136, 

140-153,  174-177,  198,  200,  20.3, 

214-216,  219,  221-224,  232,  246, 

250-252,  270-272. 
Hawkes,  Mr.,  224,  232,  252,  270. 
Healthfulness,  83. 
Heat  of  Vanah,  112. 
Hecatompylos,  27. 
Henry  Martyn,  50 ;  methods,  282. 
History   of   versions   of    Scripture, 

331-344. 
Hosein  Ale,  192. 

Khan,  222. 
Houses,  29,  114. 
Hyim,  176,  203,  216. 
Hymns  in  Persian,  165,  166. 

I. 

Ignorance  of  the  Persians,  86. 

Illness,  209  ;  of  missionaries,  222. 

Imam  Reza,  27. 

Imitations  in  theology,  294,  295. 

Influence  of  the  Bible,  297,  298. 
of  foreigners,  309,  310. 
social,  326. 

Inns,  30. 

Instruction  of  Mohammedans   pro- 
hibited, 213,  214. 

Intelligence,  increase  of,  319. 

Intemperance,  56,  128,  144,  147. 

Intercession  for  natives,  197,  310. 

Interview  with  the  governor  of  Ham- 
adan, 140. 

Intolerance,  Russian,  159,  160;  Per- 
sian, 315,  316. 

Intoxicating  drinks,  55. 

Isaac,  Theodore,  239. 

Ismael,  Hajah,  183. 


350 


INDEX. 


Jacob  of  Tus,  332. 

Jan,  doctor  of  Hamadan,  176. 

Jessup,  Dr.  H.  H.,  248. 

Jewesses,  disorderly,  166;  meetings 

for,  256. 
Jews,  superstitions  of,  47. 

intemperance  of,  56. 

of  Tehran,  89,  90,  166. 
persecution  of,  167. 

of  Hamadan,  175,  176,  202. 

in  Tajreesh,  204. 

school   for,    opened,    166;   closed, 

-  212 ;  reopened,  233. 
Jewett,  Miss  Mary,  222, 
Jins,  superstition  concerning,  37. 
Journey  of  colporteurs,  126. 
Julfa,  123. 


Kalyon,  use  of,  56. 
Karaghan,  school  opened,  153;  op- 
position, 196,  197. 

visited,  198,  209. 

condition  of  the  people,  198,  201. 

work  renewed  in,  209. 
Karaj,  80. 
Karman,  24. 
Kashan,  27. 
Kashish  Khanah,  147. 
Kathoda  of  Shevarin,  143. 
Keith  on  Prophecy,  344. 
Keun,  secretary  of  legation,  250. 
Key  of  Mynteries,  344. 
Khalafah  of  Baghdad,  27. 
Khorasan,  24  ;  name  of,  26. 
Kilishkin,  village  of,  76. 
Koran,  superstition  about,  41,  44. 
Kurds,  27. 


Labaree,   Rev.    Benjamin,  Jr.,  101, 

124. 
Land,  grant  for  chapel,  236. 

of  the  Imams,  7,  8. 

of  the  Sun,  26, 
Language,  100;  use  of  Persian,  100, 

124. 
Lar,  village  of,  198,  200, 
Lazar  goes  to  Rasht,  101,  232,  255. 
Learned  Persians,  313. 
Legation,  British,  94,  97,  249. 

of  the  United  States,  246,  247,  249. 


Liberty,  religious,  99,  143;  of  Mo- 
hammedans, 213. 
precedent  of,  320,  321. 

Limits  of  mission-fields,  23. 

Liquor  traffic,  56. 

Literature,  Christian,  163,  164,  331, 
332. 

Lotka,  Rev.,  in  Hamadan,  232. 

M. 

Manner  of  life  of  Persians,  31. 
Manufacture  of  liquor,  56,  128. 
Marriage,  child-,  65. 

of  Caspar  and  Carepet,  212. 
of  Mr.  Ha^kes,  254. 
of  Mr.  Potter,  204. 
Martyn's  version,  336. 
Mashhad,  27,  187,  193;   colony  of 

Jews,  329. 
Mashhade  Sar,  180,  181. 
Matteos,  101,  102. 
Mazandaran,  28. 
Mechail,    113,   116;   goes  to  Rasht, 

177;  to  Mashhad,  187. 
Medical  missions,  299,  300. 
Megerditch,  110,  111,  112,  178. 
Men  of  wealth,  28. 
Merrick's  translation  of  Keith,  344. 
Methods  of  mission-work,  281-300. 
of  preaching,  295,  296. 
of  aiding  the  colonies,  328. 
Minister,  British,  225,  230. 

of  Persian   Foreign  Affairs,   230, 
231. 
Mission,  beginning  of,  74;  plan  of 
work,  100. 
in  Oroomiah,  75. 
in  Persia,  75. 
Mission-premises,  194-196,  307. 

proposed  division  of,  223. 
Missionaries  and  the  authorities,  172, 
197. 
return  of,  to  Persia,  220,  221 ;  and 
the  legation,  310. 
Modern  cities,  27. 

Mohammedans,  85,  93;  why  not  con- 
verted, 171. 
colporteur  of,  171 ;  and  Jews,  203, 

204. 
prohibited  from  attending  church, 

213. 
received  to  the  Church,  216. 
races,  28 ;  number,  34. 
Montgomery,  Miss  Anna,  239,  251, 
254. 


INDEX. 


351 


Moral  characteristics,  34. 
Mordecai,  28. 
Mosques  of  Tehran,  303. 
Mountains,  25. 
Mujtahe«d  of  Yezd,  126,  179. 
Mullahs,   studious,   47 ;    relation    to 
Shah,  9J. 

spirit  of,  47,  50,  51. 

ignorance  of,  49. 
Music    in    worship,    165,    166,    292, 

293. 
Musicians,  release  of,  121,  122. 
Mustofe,  152. 

N. 

Naibe  Sultan,  106,107. 
Narrative,  object  of,  preface,  9. 
Native  preachers,  290. 
Neavaron,  105. 
Necromancy,  40. 
Nestorian  helpers,  99,  290. 
Night-journey  to  Nobaron,  201. 
Night-drinking,  147. 
Nobaron,  200. 
Northern  Persia,  24. 
Nurillah,  233. 
Nusrat  id  Deen,  52. 


Observances  of  Sheahs,  35. 
Officers  of  government,  172. 

and  missionaries,  172. 
Ohanes,  113;  of  Shevarin,  132. 
Opening  of  mission,  74. 
Opium,  56. 
Opposition  of  the   archbishop,  106, 

109,  140. 
Oracale,  priest,  151. 
Oracle,  41. 
Order  of  Sadr  Azam,  173. 

of  Mustofe  and  Shah  about  taxes, 

151,  152. 
about  school  in  Karaghan,  196, 1 97. 
of  Sadr  Azam  about  Jews  in  Ham- 

adan,  176. 
concerning    Mohammedans,    213, 

214. 
in  behalf  of  Shamoon,  223. 
prohibiting  missionaries,  224-231. 
prohibiting  missionaries,  effect  of, 

229. 
copy  of,  from  Persian  minister,  231. 
Organization  of  the  church  in  Teh- 
ran, 168. 
of  the  church  in  Hamadan,  175. 


Organization  of  the  church  in  Rasht, 
156,  255. 
of  the  churches,  323, 
of  the  Eastern    Persian  Mission, 
239. 
Origin  of  Jewish  colony,  89. 
Oroomiah,  75. 


Parthia,  26,  27, 
Peasants,  30. 
Permanent  missions,  291. 
Persecution  of  Mechail,  114,  116. 

in  Tabriz,  121. 

of  Protestants,  170. 

in  Hamadan,  198,   208,  212,  219, 
220,  246,  250,  251. 
Persia  and  Christian  lands,  31. 

proper,  27. 
Persian  mission-fields,  24. 

race,  27. 

Armenians,  86, 
Persians,  very  religious,  34. 
Petition  of  the  church  in  Hamadan, 

220. 
Pfander's  books,  298. 
Physicians,  native,  89,  209. 
Pivotal  doctrines,  296. 
Plain  of  Tehran,  80,  83. 
Plains,  25. 

Plea  for  captive  colonies,  327. 
Plots  against  Sadr  Azam,  105,  106. 
Poetry,  influenced  by,  59. 
Police,  order  referred  to,  231. 
Political  preferment,  89. 
Polygamy,  effect  of,  64-66. 

not  practiced,  131. 

of  church-members,  171. 
Porter,  Rev.  T.  J.,  268. 
Possibilities  of  Persia,  324. 
Postal  system,  318. 
Potter,  Rev.  J.  L.,  arrival,  139;  goes 
to  Oroomiah,  177;  begins  trans- 
lation of  Pilgrim's  Progress,  179  ; 
journey  of,  to  Baku,  180,   181; 
goes  to  America,  184,  185;  mar- 
ries,   204;    removes,    232,    233; 
work  of,  235,  241,  269,  345. 
Potteries,  27. 
Poverty  of  the  people,  28. 
Power  of  conscience,  285. 
Prayer,  Mohammedan,  36. 

cure,  44,  148. 
Preaching,  136. 

in  Persia,  282-300. 


362 


INDEX. 


Precedents  of  liberty,  320. 
Premises,  mission,  135;   purchased, 

194-196. 
mission  occupied,  204. 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions,  75. 
Press,  printing,  139. 
Priest,  of  Vanak,  110,  111;  of  She- 

varin,  143,  144. 
of  Hamadan,  151;  of  Baku,  159. 
Shamoon  of  Hamadan,  175. 
Prince-governor  of  Hamadan,  143. 
Prohibition  of  liquor  traffic,  55,  56. 
Prosody,  Persian,  165,  166. 
Prostitution,  97,  98. 
Protection  of  missionaries,  94,  235, 

247,  248. 
of  Persians,  310. 
Protestant  village,  109,  214,  215. 
colony  of  Shamakha,  159,  160. 
Providential  openings,  326. 
Public  baths,  31. 
Publication  in  Persia,  difficulties  of, 

178. 
Purchase  of  mission-houses,  194-196. 
Pursuits,  disreputable,  90. 

Q. 

Queen,  105. 
Quarentine,  180,  181. 

R. 

Ra,  28. 

Raghes,  27,  28. 

Raheem,  176,  203,  219. 

Railways,  324. 

Ramazan,  55. 

Rasht,  27;  work  begun,  155;  church 

in,  156,  221. 
Readers  in  Tehran,  312. 
Reform  in  Hamadan,  115. 
Reinforcements,  154,  155 ;  detained, 

180. 
Religious  state  of  the  people,  33-57. 

Tract  Society,  124. 
Removal  of  Armenians  of  Feruzbah- 

rom,  108,  109. 
Renting  houses  in  Persia,  194. 
Reply   of  the  British  minister,  225, 
227,  228. 

of  Mr.  Bassett,  227,  228. 
Report  of  1879,  210. 

of  1880,  217-219. 

of  1882,  240. 

of  188,3,  252,  255. 

of  1884,  268-272. 


Report  of  1884,  for  Hamadan,  270- 
272. 

of   British    Foreign    Office  about 
missionaries,  247. 

of  woman's  work,  255,  280. 

of  Miss  Bartlett,  262-267. 

of  Mrs.  Bassett,  255,  256. 

of  Mrs.  Potter,  256-262. 

of  Miss  Schenck,  273-277. 

of  Miss  Sarah  Bassett,  277-280. 
Representatives,  foreign,  94,  304. 
Results,  promise  of,  319. 

present,  319,  324. 
Reverence  for  maternity,  43,  44,  64. 
Revival  in  Feruzbahrom,  107,  108. 

in  Hamadan,  115. 

in  Tehran,  166,  267,  289. 
Revolt,  26. 

Reza,  Imam,  187-189. 
Rich  and  poor,  30. 
Rites  of  Guebers,  86,  93. 
Roman  Catholicism  and  Sheahism, 

294,  295. 
Romance,  282. 
Russian  Armenians,  86,  159,  160. 

advance,  effect  of,  323. 
Russians,  intolerance  of,  159. 

s. 

Sabbath  in  Persia,  160. 
services,  106. 

Sacred  books,  40. 

Sadr  Azam,  102,  172,  173,  212. 

Said  Saduk,  53. 

Khan,  222,  246,  250. 

Saloons,  56. 

Sargis  of  Shamakha,  159. 

Sayeds,  35,  60. 

Scale  of  Truth,  53. 

Schenck,  Miss  Anna,  181,  234. 

Scholars,  139. 

School,  89;  in  Shevarin,  132,  136, 
139;  condition,  239;  Guebers, 
90,  93,  101;  village,  108,  112, 
123;    city,  128,  296,  297. 

Science  of  dreams,  41,  42. 

Scorpions,  27. 

Scott,  Rev.  David,  181,  204,  207. 

Scriptures  in  Persian,  164,  174,  342. 

Secular  authorities  and  Olema,  51. 

Sef  ul  Ommah,  52. 

Sekah  marriage,  66. 

Senah,  24. 

Servants,  30. 

Shah,  63,  84,  85,  94, 102,  230, 231. 


INDEX. 


353 


Shah,  grants  by,  236,  247,  307. 

petitions  to,  152,  208. 
Shamakha,  159. 

Shamoon,    priest,    175 ;    threatened, 
219;  flees,  222  j  returns  to  Ham- 
adan,  223. 
Sheahism,  34-36,  59,  294,  316,  317. 
Sherwood,  Miss,  252. 
Shevarin,  113,  140,  143,  144,250,251. 
Shimron,  Mt.,  80,  84 ;  ascent,  153, 154. 
Shrine  of  Fatima,  27. 

of  Imam  Reza,  27. 
Shrines,  35. 
Smith,  Lieut.-Col.,  249. 
Smokers,  56. 
Snowstorm,  76. 
Social  influence,  326. 
Sodomy,  56,  57. 
Speculative  spirit,  309. 
Spies,  106. 

Spirit  of  religious  orders,  47. 
Spirits,  belief  in,  36-38,  43. 
Stocking,  Mr.,  163. 
Subjects  of  study  of  mullahs,  48. 
Subscription  for  chapel,  235,  236. 
Success  of  the  mission,  319-324. 

of  the  Bible-work,  321. 
Succession,  doctrine  of,  35. 
Sultaneah,  113. 
Summary  of  statistics,  272. 
Summer  retreat,  128,  153,  268. 
Sun,  eclipse  of,  237. 
Suneeism,  34. 
Superhuman  beings,  37. 
Superstition,  36,  44,  47. 
Supervision  of  girls'  school,  135. 
Synagogues,  Jewish,  89. 


Tajrcesh,  128,  203,  204. 
Takah  translation,  209. 
Taste  of  Persians,  303. 
Taxes  of  Armenians,  151. 
Tchenoktche,  198. 
Teachers  of  girls'  school,  135. 
Tears,  power  of,  44. 
Tehran,  23,  24,  27,  75,  80,  84,  94,  212. 
Telegrarph.  318. 
Temptations,  308-310. 
Theodore  Isaac,  239,  240. 
Tiflis,  mission-work  in,  160. 
Tobacco,  56. 

Toleration,  56;  of  Sheah  and  Sunee, 
94. 


Torrence,  Dr.  W.  W.,  220,  232,  241, 

269. 
Tours,  75,  323. 
Tower  of  Silence,  90. 
Tract  Primer,  178,  179. 
Transfer  of  missions,  75;  of  property, 

196. 
Treacherous  temper  of  mullahs,  50.  ' 
Trial  of  mujtaheeds,  51. 

of  Baubes,  51. 
Turkish  races,  27. 
Twelve,  sect  of,  59,  93. 

U. 

Union  of  schools,  101. 
Use  of  the  Kalyon,  56. 

V. 

Vanak,  109,  110. 

Van  Duzee,  Miss,  163. 

Varomene,  80. 

VartinoflF,  Avek,  of  Baku,  156. 

Versions  of  the  Scriptures,  332-341. 

Vices,  55. 

View,  25. 

Villages,  29,  107,  108. 

Virtue  of  Armenians,  97. 

Wealth,  309,  313. 

Western  Persian  Mission,  2.3,  25. 

Wilson,  Mr.,  222. 

Whipple,  Rev.  Wm.,  216,  217,  322. 

Wine,  55. 

Wright,  Rev.  J.  N.,  345. 

Rev.  Wm.,  164. 
Wolfi",  Rev.  Joseph,  322. 
Woman's  work  for  women,  255-267, 

273-280,  300. 
Women,  condition  of,  58-73. 

Y. 

Yangee  Kallah.  198. 
Yasse  Attar,  212. 
Yohannan,  deacon,  165. 
Young  men  of  Persia,  311,  312. 

z. 

Zain  al  Abadeen,  220. 
Zambar,  village  of,  198,  200. 


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